A steroid injection is an effective, minimally invasive therapy for persistent pain that isn’t responsive to oral medicines. In many cases, injections offer significant pain relief, so you can avoid more invasive treatments, including surgery.
New Tampa Interventional Pain & Sports Medicine specializes in patient-centered pain management services for a variety of acute and chronic pain conditions.
Jose De La Torre, MD, is highly skilled at using the least invasive treatment for maximum pain relief. Dr. De La Torre has years of experience administering steroid injections to ease inflammation and pain nearly anywhere in the body, especially in the upper spine and neck.
Steroid injections deliver anti-inflammatory medications directly into an area of the body that’s damaged by an injury or disease. The medicines provide fast relief of tissue inflammation that contributes to persistent pain.
Our pain management team can also add a local anesthetic into the injection to numb nerves in the treatment area and further alleviate pain.
Dr. De La Torre often uses ultrasound imaging technology (fluoroscopy) to guide the needle into a precise location. This ensures you receive full benefit from the injection for lasting symptom relief.
Steroid injections aren’t typically the first line of treatment for severe or chronic pain. We might recommend treatments like oral medications or ice and heat therapy. If these strategies aren’t effective or stop working, Dr. De La Torre may consider you a candidate for injection therapy.
Steroid injections aren’t a solution for all types of pain. However, certain conditions respond well to injections, including the following four conditions that are often a source of chronic neck pain:
Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of the spinal column. As the column shrinks inward, excess pressure is put on the nerves that travel through the spine, leading to chronic inflammation and pain.
A herniated disc occurs when the protective spinal discs that sit between the vertebrae of your spine rupture. The soft center of the disc pushes outward, which can press on nearby nerves and cause moderate-to-severe neck and back pain.
Cervical radiculopathy describes nerve roots in the cervical spine that are pinched or compressed by inflamed tissues, bone spurs, or herniated disc material. Nerve compression can result from neck trauma or conditions like arthritis and spinal stenosis.
Degenerative disc disease occurs when the spinal discs wear out and break down due to age-related spine changes and trauma. The loss of protective discs allows vertebrae to rub together, creating friction, inflammation, and pain.
We offer in-office diagnostic technologies to identify the source of your pain and determine if steroid injections would be a beneficial part of your pain management plan.
If your initial injection provides lasting relief from persistent pain, Dr. De La Torre discusses how often you can schedule follow-up injections to keep chronic neck pain under control.
Call New Tampa Interventional Pain & Sports Medicine in Wesley Chapel, Florida, today to schedule a diagnostic evaluation for chronic neck pain. Our online booking feature is also available for scheduling an appointment.
