Steroid Injections
One possible treatment for persistent lower back and leg pain can be a steroid injection. If you are experiencing this sort of pain, epidural steroid injections are a common non-surgical treatment that offers temporary relief for lower back and leg pain.
If you are suffering from herniated lumbar discs, degenerative osteophyte formation, ligamentum flavum hypertrophy, or spondylolisthesis, your nerves may be compressed in the spinal canal or neural foramen where they leave the spinal canal. An epidural steroid injection can aid in diagnosis as well as offer short or long term relief by reducing inflammation.
For long-term relief, it is often recommended to participate in physical therapy while the pain is reduced. This can often lead to long-term positive results.
Facet Injection / Rhizotomy
Degenerative facet joints in the spine can also cause back pain. A steroid/anesthetic injection can confirm the source of the pain to the facets. A radiofrequency (RF) rhizotomy may then be performed to reduce or eliminate pain symptoms due to degenerative changes in the facets by destroying the nerve responsible for pain sensory input back to the brain.
X-Stop Device
Lumbar spinal stenosis is narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back. It can be the result of a herniated disk, degenerative bony changes (osteophyte) or thickening of the ligamentum flavum. All can result in narrowing of the openings that the nerve roots exit from the spine. The symptoms can include: pain in the lower back, pain radiating down the back of the leg, numbness or tingling down the leg, weakness, aching or cramping. This is commonly known as a “pinched nerve.” Often, relief is felt from this condition if one leans forward or sits down, uses a cane, walker or shopping cart for support when walking, all of which create space in the spinal canal or nerve root opening. This relief can also be created by the X-Stop spacer, a small implant that can be placed between two bones in the spine to eliminate contact with the pinched nerve.
The X-Stop Spacer offers safe and permanent relief from the pain of a pinched nerve. There are no screws or bonds and there is no spinal fusion required to use the X-Stop Spacer. In an outpatient procedure conducted with a local anesthetic and I.V. conscious sedation, usually 45-90 minutes in length, the X-Stop Spacer can be placed to relieve the pressure and pain. This minimally invasive procedure does not require removing any bone or structure and offers almost immediate relief from the pain of a pinched nerve.