A new study in Science Daily reports that the use of epidural buy steroids injections for back pain and sciatica are linked to an increase in bone density loss in post menopausal women. As reported in the December 1, 2012 edition of Science Daily, postmenopausal women suffered significant bone density loss in their hip after they were treated with an epidural steroid injection for back pain relief, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.
Back pain is one of the most common medical conditions in the United States affecting 8 out of 10 people at some time in their lives. Unfortunately, the current medical treatment routine includes treatments that are either ineffective or worse creating more harm than good as is the case with these steroid injections. Doctors should exercise caution when recommending an epidural steroid injection for their patients suffering from back pain or sciatica.
Currently, the typical approach to treatment includes pain medications and anti-inflammatories. If these fail, doctors are quick to recommend an epidural injection. Often the results of the injections are less than favorable and this leads to surgery.
Other studies have shown epidural injections for back pain and / or sciatica are not effective and don’t change the need for more invasive procedures in the future nor do they accomplish much in terms of long term pain relief. Despite this, doctors continue to recommend them.
One patient in my clinic recently began a more natural treatment regimen known as non-surgical spinal decompression after her own failed steroid injection at another clinic. The promise of “quick pain relief” from the injection was short lived. I fact, she reported only one day of relief before the pain returned back to its original levels. Now, less than a third of the way into the spinal decompression treatment, she is already experiencing relief.
Hopefully, doctors will take note of this study and stop recommending these injections to their patients. Many doctors looking for a way to find relief for their patients simply don’t know of any other treatment options so they are quick to recommend the injections. Some recommend the injections because insurance will pay for the procedure.
