Epidural Steroid Injections in Queens, NY
Our physicians perform epidural injections at our Rego Park office using live X-ray (fluoroscopy), so the needle is placed precisely and contrast dye confirms where the medicine will go before it's delivered.
An epidural steroid injection puts a corticosteroid and a local anesthetic into the epidural space, the area around the spinal nerves, to calm the inflammation that is irritating them. It is most often used for leg or arm pain caused by a herniated disc or a narrowed spinal canal. Many people notice relief within a few days, and it commonly lasts several weeks to a few months. It doesn’t repair the disc or widen the canal. What it does is turn the pain down far enough that you can move, do physical therapy, and give the nerve time to settle.
About 15 to 30 minutes
Our Rego Park office. No hospital stay
Local numbing at the skin. No general anesthesia
Fluoroscopy (live X-ray) with contrast dye
Often within a few days. It can take up to about a week
Usually several weeks to a few months. It varies a lot from person to person
Typically no more than 3 to 4 per spinal region per year
Usually the next day
How an Epidural Injection Works
A bulging disc, a bone spur, or a thickened ligament can press on a spinal nerve root. The pressure is only part of the problem. The nerve also becomes inflamed, and that inflammation is what sends pain, numbness, or tingling down the leg (sciatica) or into the arm and hand.
A corticosteroid is a strong anti-inflammatory. Placed in the epidural space, right next to the irritated nerve, it reaches the problem area at a higher concentration than a pill would. The local anesthetic mixed in gives short-term numbing, so you may feel better the same day. That early relief is the anesthetic. The steroid takes a few days to build up.
The injection also tells us something. If your leg pain eases after the medicine goes in at a specific level, that's good evidence the nerve at that level is the source, and it helps us plan what comes next.
Epidural injections are most often used for:
- Herniated or bulging discs with sciatica or arm pain
- Spinal stenosis, including narrowing around the nerve exit (foraminal stenosis)
- Cervical or lumbar radiculopathy (a pinched or irritated nerve root)
- Nerve-root irritation after spine surgery, sometimes called post-laminectomy pain
The injection works best for pain that travels, down a leg or an arm along the path of a nerve. It's less predictable for pain that stays in the middle of the lower back or neck. If your exam and imaging don't point to an irritated nerve, we'll tell you that and talk through other options instead of booking a procedure.
Types of Epidural Injections
The approach depends on where your symptoms come from and what your imaging shows.
Interlaminar
The needle goes between two vertebrae into the back of the epidural space. The medicine can spread across several levels, which helps when more than one nerve is involved.
Transforaminal
The needle is directed to the small opening where a single nerve root exits the spine. It’s the most targeted option.
Caudal
The needle enters at the base of the spine, near the tailbone. It reaches the lower lumbar and sacral nerves and is sometimes used when prior surgery makes other routes harder.
Each can be done in the lumbar (lower back) spine, and interlaminar and transforaminal approaches are also used in the cervical (neck) spine.
Benefits of Epidural Injections
- Places a strong anti-inflammatory right next to the irritated nerve, at a higher concentration than a pill would reach
- Local anesthetic gives short-term numbing, so you may feel better the same day
- Steroid effect builds over a few days, often with full effect by about a week
- Relief commonly lasts several weeks to a few months, though it varies a lot
- Turns pain down far enough to move and do physical therapy properly
- Gives an irritated nerve time to settle
- Response at a specific level helps show which nerve is the source and guides next steps
- Live X-ray and contrast dye confirm where the medicine will go before it is delivered
- No hospital stay and no general anesthesia. Most people are back to routine activity the next day
- May help some patients get through a flare while a herniated disc settles on its own
- Our in-house physical therapy team can coordinate with your injection schedule
- Repeated only if the first injection helped and pain returns, with reassessment if it did not
A 2025 systematic review from the American Academy of Neurology, covering 90 randomized trials, found that epidural steroid injections give short-term pain relief (up to about three months) for radicular pain in both the neck and lower back. The evidence for lasting benefit beyond six months, and for spinal stenosis, was limited and less certain.
That's why we treat the injection as one piece of a plan, not the whole plan. The relief is real for many people, but it's most useful when you use it: walking more, starting physical therapy, and working on the mechanics that overloaded the spine in the first place. The FDA has not approved corticosteroids specifically for epidural use. The practice is common and long-standing, but it is considered off-label.
The numbness from the anesthetic wears off within hours, and your usual pain may come back the same day. That doesn't mean it failed. The steroid usually needs a few days to work. Take it easy for the rest of the day, then return to normal activity as you feel able, following the instruction sheet you're given. Most people are back to work or routine the next day.
The weeks after an injection are the best time to start or continue physical therapy. Pain is lower, so you can do the exercises properly. Our in-house physical therapy team can coordinate with your injection schedule.
What Happens During Your Visit
See Your First Visit for what to bring to your first appointment.
Review
Your physician goes over your MRI or CT, your history, and your medications, especially blood thinners and diabetes medicines. If the imaging doesn’t match your symptoms, we sort that out first.
Positioning
You usually lie face down. The skin is cleaned and numbed with a local anesthetic.
Needle placement
Using live X-ray, the physician guides the needle to the target. A small amount of contrast dye shows where the medicine will spread. If the dye goes somewhere it shouldn’t, the needle is repositioned before any steroid is given.
Medication
The steroid and anesthetic are injected. Most people feel pressure, and some feel a brief flash of their familiar pain, which is a useful sign we’re in the right place.
Recovery
You rest and are monitored briefly, get written aftercare instructions, and go home the same day.
Risks and Side Effects
- Soreness at the needle site for a day or two
- A temporary flare in your usual pain before the steroid takes hold
- Facial flushing or a warm feeling
- Trouble sleeping or a jittery feeling for a day or two
- A temporary rise in blood sugar if you have diabetes
- A headache after the procedure, which is uncommon
- Infection or bleeding, with bleeding risk higher if you take blood thinners
- Allergic reaction to the contrast dye or medication
- Nerve injury
In 2014 the FDA required a warning on injectable corticosteroid labels about rare but serious neurologic problems after epidural injections, including spinal cord injury, stroke, vision loss, paralysis, and death. Those events were reported both with and without X-ray guidance. Imaging improves accuracy, but it doesn't remove every risk, and we go through this with you before you decide.
Take blood thinners, have diabetes, have an active infection or fever, are or might be pregnant, or have ever reacted to contrast dye, iodine, or latex. Never stop a blood thinner on your own. We coordinate any change with the doctor who prescribes it.
Fever, spreading redness or swelling at the site, a severe headache that gets worse when you sit or stand, new weakness or numbness in the legs, or loss of bladder or bowel control.
If the first injection helps and the pain later returns, a repeat may make sense. Guidelines generally limit epidural steroid injections to three or four per spinal region per year, because repeated steroid exposure can affect blood sugar and bone density. If an injection gives you little or no benefit, repeating it rarely helps, and we'll reassess the diagnosis rather than keep injecting.
An epidural injection is one option on a longer list. Depending on your case, we may also discuss:
- Physical therapy
- Anti-inflammatory or nerve-pain medication
- Facet joint injection
- Sacroiliac joint injection
- Radiofrequency ablation
- Spinal cord stimulation
- Surgical consultation
A surgical consultation is considered if you have progressive weakness or the problem is structural enough that injections are unlikely to hold.
Insurers often want imaging and a documented trial of conservative care before approving an epidural injection, and coverage rules differ by plan. Our staff can check your benefits before you schedule. See our Insurance page. We also see patients whose pain comes from a car accident (no-fault, see Auto Injury) or a work injury (workers' compensation, see Worker's Comp).
Epidural Injection FAQ
Epidural Injections in Rego Park, Queens
Queens Pain Clinic has treated spine and joint pain in Queens since 2004. We're at 9701 66th Ave, Rego Park, NY 11374, close to Forest Hills, Elmhurst, Middle Village, and Kew Gardens.
9701 66th Ave, Rego Park, NY 11374
Phone: 1-877-97 NO PAIN
- Monday9:00 am to 6:00 pm
- Tuesday9:00 am to 6:00 pm
- WednesdayClosed
- Thursday9:00 am to 6:00 pm
- Friday9:00 am to 6:00 pm
- SaturdayClosed
- Sunday9:00 am to 3:00 pm
This page is for general information and isn't medical advice. Results vary. Talk with a qualified physician about whether an epidural injection is right for you.