Interventional pain management is a medical field devoted exclusively to the use of invasive techniques instead of medication or narcotics to treat painful disorders at the source.

Injections (nerve blocks) work to provide temporary pain relief through the use of powerful medications, such as steroids and opioids, near the nerves to relieve pain. Most patients require two to three injections for maximum pain relief. Other common nerve block injections include:

• Epidural steroid injection (ESI)
• Joint injections
• Single nerve root blocks
• Sacroiliac joint injections

Epidural steroid injections (ESI), are a minimally invasive type of procedure than helps to relieve pain in certain areas, including the neck, back, legs, and arms caused by highly inflamed spinal nerves. Epidural steroid injections may be given to alleviate key pain due to disc herniation, spondylolysis, or spinal stenosis. Medicines are directly delivered to the patient’s spinal nerve via the epidural area, the space that lies between the vertebrae and the spinal cord’s protective covering. Although the effects of ESI are generally temporary, the relief from pain could last for a number of days or over the course of many years. The primary goal is to diminish the pain enough so that patients can resume their everyday activities and get back to a normal lifestyle.