Lumbar Epidural Injection: Your Procedure
Lumbar Epidural Injection: Your Procedure
A lumbar epidural injection is an outpatient procedure. It’s often done in a hospital or an outpatient surgery center. Before your shot, your healthcare provider will tell you how to get ready.
Getting ready
You may need to do the following:
Give the healthcare provider a list of all medicines you take, such as aspirin and anti-inflammatories. (You may need to stop taking some of them before the injection.)
You may be asked not to eat or drink anything for several hours before check-in.
Arrange for an adult friend or family member to drive you home afterward.
Bring any requested X-ray, CT, or MRI images on the day of the procedure.
During the procedure
The injection takes just a few minutes. But extra time is needed to get ready. You may be given medicine beforehand to help you relax:
In some cases, monitoring devices may be attached to your chest or side. These devices measure your heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure.
You lie on your stomach or side, depending on where the shot will be given. Your back is cleaned and may be covered with sterile towels.
Medicine is given to numb the skin near the place of the shot.
If X-ray imaging (fluoroscopy) is to be used, a contrast “dye” may be injected into your back. This helps your healthcare provider get a better image.
A local anesthetic (for numbing), steroids (for reducing inflammation), or both are injected into the epidural space.
The procedure is very safe. But there is a very small risk of infection or local reaction afterward. Seek medical care right away if you have:
Increasing pain
Headaches (especially when standing up)
Redness
Fever
Symptoms of infection
After the procedure
You’ll spend time in a recovery area after the procedure. Before going home, you may be asked to fill out another survey about your pain.
Updated:  
June 05, 2018
Sources:  
Subacute and chronic low back pain: Nonsurgical interventional treatment. UpToDate
Reviewed By:  
Fetterman, Anne, RN, BSN,Moe, Jimmy, MD