Spinal Stenosis Responds Poorly to Steroid Injections

400 patients at 16 medical centers evaluated the effectiveness of epidural injections of steroids for treating spinal stenosis and published the results in the New England Journal of Medicine.  The study showed that patients injected with steroids along with local anesthetics had no less pain and no better function than those who received only local anesthetics.  Hundreds of thousands of injections of steroids are given each year for this problem with a great deal of pain and some potential risk.  Some insrance companies require the injections before they will approve surgery.  I find that prolotherapy and/or pain reduction techniques are safer, cheaper, and more effective for both the short and long run.  Ask your orthopedist about this study.  The findings were dramatic.

See The Blade, Toledo, section A, page 6, Monday, July 7, 2014.

Celebration of HealthAssociation website