When winter weather keeps you indoors, chronic back pain can quietly get worse — and as the weather warms up, you might begin to notice just how much this impacts your mobility, activity level, and quality of life. Sound familiar?
Now is the perfect time to start reclaiming comfort and prepare for a more active summer. Eric Fanaee, MD, and our team specialize in pain management, and epidural injections could help you get ready for the season without surgery.
Here’s how epidural injections help reduce inflammation, ease nerve-related pain, and support you in getting back to daily life without discomfort this spring.
This common procedure delivers medication into the epidural space around your spinal cord and spinal nerves. The medication is typically a combination of a local anesthetic that offers quick pain relief and a corticosteroid that starts working over several days to reduce inflammation and irritation around affected nerves.
Because these injections target spinal nerves directly, epidurals can effectively manage chronic pain caused by inflammation in your spine from conditions like herniated discs, spinal arthritis, sciatica, or bone spurs.
Dr. Fanaee and our team might recommend epidural injections if you’ve tried conservative treatments like physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medications without effective relief — particularly if you want a nonsurgical option before exploring more invasive procedures.
Epidurals can help manage back pain that limits your ability to work, exercise, or enjoy time outdoors. And they’re especially helpful for nerve-related symptoms like tingling, numbness, or sharp radiating pain like sciatica.
Plus, epidurals can improve your ability to participate in rehabilitation and physical therapy by reducing pain enough to move more comfortably.
Dr. Fanaee administers epidural injections on an outpatient basis, which means you can go home shortly after the procedure is over. We use fluoroscopic guidance (real-time X-ray imaging) to ensure precise placement of the medication where it’s needed most.
To start, you lie face-down on a table, and we apply a local antiseptic and anesthetic. We use fluoroscopy to guide the needle to the correct area in the epidural space and then inject the medication. After a brief observation period following your injection, you’ll be able to go home with someone to drive you.
We typically advise you to take it easy, avoiding strenuous exertion for the rest of the day; most people resume normal activities the next day. Relief from an epidural injection is sometimes immediate due to the anesthetic, while the full effect from the steroid may take a few days to develop.
Once the steroid starts working, you can experience weeks to months of reduced pain. Results vary from person to person, and it’s important to understand that epidurals are meant to manage symptoms, not cure underlying structural issues. The goal of this treatment is to help you stay active and pursue rehabilitation without pain, potentially delaying or avoiding surgery.
Spring marks a natural transition toward increased outdoor activity — from gardening and beach days to hiking and biking. Finding out if you’re a good candidate for epidural injections now gives you time to schedule treatment, participate in physical therapy, and build strength without missing out on any of your favorite warm-weather activities.
Ready to get started? Spring into action and schedule a consultation with Dr. Fanaee in Bellmore, Smithtown, and West Islip, New York, to kick off your journey toward a more active summer season.
