Nerve root infiltration

Preparation

You do not need to make any specific preparations at home. You can eat and drink as usual, staying sober is not necessary. This treatment is not suitable for pregnant women.

Treatment

Pain infiltration is performed in the operating room. You will first receive a local anaesthetic through a syringe. This may cause a burning sensation that quickly subsides. Once the anaesthetic has taken effect, the doctor uses an X-ray machine to locate the nerve root. Here you will receive an injection of a numbing substance and cortisone. This may cause a radiating pain in your leg or arm.

Result

It is difficult to predict whether the infiltration will help or not. Treatment usually strikes better in people with radiating pain rather than common back pain. Also, if the pain arose recently, you will respond better to the infiltration than if you have been experiencing pain for some time. Because of the injection, your back or leg may feel sore for 7 days. This pain should subside after about 1 to 2 weeks. If there is no improvement in the pain after this period, you may have a second infiltration. A third infiltration is indicated if you feel an improvement after two infiltrations but still experience mild pain.

Recovery

You rest for at least half an hour after treatment because you may feel temporarily weak at times. Your blood pressure and heart rate will be monitored. After treatment, you may feel a sensation of warmth and loss of strength around the injection area. This is because the fluid wears off after two to eight hours. You may return home the same day, make sure you can be taken home after the treatment. You may not drive a car for the first 24 hours after the treatment.