The Honolulu Pain Management Clinic LLC uses fluoroscopic guided epidurals to make an accurate diagnosis and administer effective therapy.
Fluoroscopic Guided Epidural – Epidural steroid injection (ESI) is a technique for relieving pain from spinal stenosis and spinal disc herniation. Using a needle, corticosteroids and a local anesthetic are injected into the epidural space around the spinal cord and spinal nerves. The anesthetic gives short-term relief, and the corticosteroids give longer-term relief. The anti-inflammatory effect of the corticosteroid can relieve pain when that pain is caused by inflammation of the roots of the nerves branching out from the spine. Fluoroscopic imaging guidance ensures the correct placement of the needle and maximizes the physician’s ability to make an accurate diagnosis and administer effective therapy. Without imaging, the risk increases for the injection to be incorrectly placed, and this would in turn lower the therapy’s efficacy and increase subsequent risk of need for more treatment. It has been shown in studies that image guidance provides much more reliable localization and accuracy in comparison to “blind injections”. [1]