Rear-Ended and in Pain? How Epidural Injections Address Disc Herniations After a Car Crash

Herniated discs are among the most common car accident injuries. While they aren’t usually as dangerous as other injuries, they can cause debilitating symptoms. Even in minor cases, disc herniation can fuel serious complications, such as permanent nerve damage, if you ignore it.

Epidural injections provide a minimally invasive means of easing your pain, improving your mobility, and bolstering your quality of life.

Our expert team at Houston Pain Specialists, led by board-certified pain management specialist Hui Kang, MD, offers effective and advanced post-accident care. We put the following information together to shed light on epidurals, including how they work and benefits to anticipate.

How fender benders cause disc herniation

When you are involved in a car accident, the force of the collision can add heavy pressure to the spinal discs that absorb shock between your vertebrae. When this happens, it can tear the tough exterior of a disc, forcing the soft center to seep out and strain nearby nerves — basically the definition of a herniated disc. 

A car accident that rapidly jolts your head and neck can have similar effects.

Signs of a herniated disc

Disc herniation causes a range of symptoms, some of which depend on the location of the affected disc. Lower back herniation, the most common form, can cause:

• Lower back pain
• Numbness or tingling in your legs and feet 
• Muscle weakness 
• Sciatic pain that radiates down one or both sides of your lower body

If an accident caused cervical disc herniation in your upper spine you may experience:

• Neck pain, particularly on the back and sides
• Neck pain that radiates down your arm
• Pain between your shoulder blades

Herniated disc symptoms may worsen when you attempt to turn your back or neck, lift a heavy object, or sit for a lengthy amount of time. 

How epidural injections help 

Epidural injections deliver an anesthetic and a steroid medication to a problematic nerve to ease your herniated disc symptoms. While the anesthetic brings an immediate reduction in pain, the steroid gradually reduces inflammation.

With less inflammation, a pinched nerve has more room, helping to resolve shooting and sharp pain. The injections can also help keep you comfortable while your disc heals naturally over time. You’ll have less pain and a better ability to move about as usual.

Epidurals can also make physical therapy more feasible and effective, making way for enhanced healing, improved strength, and better flexibility.

Depending on your symptom severity and response to epidural injections, you may need one or a series of injections. 

To get started with herniated disc treatment or find out if epidurals are right for you, contact our Houston, Texas, office today to schedule an appointment.