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Suggest Treatment For Pain In Neck After Cortisone Injection Epidural
Question: i recently had a cortisone injection epidural in my neck. I drove myself home and walked fine then that night after a nap i couldnt move my legs , it took about 18 hours to recover and start walking . Also since this injection (6 days ago) i noticed some bright red blood in my stool . no pain involved. Ive been very bloated and the epidural didnt do any good as far as relieving the pain in my neck that was caused by a fall last year.I am 50 years old. The neck injury from last years accident (i fell) has only gotten worse or at best stayed the same. What should i do should i be worried
Brief Answer:
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
The first manifestation which you refer, the fact of not being able to move your legs is a worrying fact. It shouldn't normally happen. An epidural injection doesn't touch the spinal cord, it injects in the space around it, so shouldn't affect movement. If you had reported it at the time I would have advised urgent neck imaging for the possibility of an epidural haematoma, a blood collection in the epidural space compressing the spinal cord. It is a very rare complication, but is known to be a possibility. Now though if you've completely recovered your movement of the limbs, feel no numbness or bladder emptying issues I think the danger moment has passed. I still think it might have been a case of an epidural haematoma (and imaging is still advised), but it must have stopped and is being reabsorbed, I do not think it will leave any damage or warrant any procedure.
As for the red blood in your stool, that is not related with the epidural or the neck issues. It must be looked at by physical rectal exam, stool analysis and at times if no evident cause such as hemorrhoids is found, a colonoscopy.
As for the further management of neck pain....over the counter pain killers I suppose have already been tried. Physical therapy is very important it is the only measure to mediate a lasting benefit. The next step is epidural injection which doesn't seem to have worked for you. It may be repeated at a later time in theory, but I doubt you'll opt for it. The last option is surgery, but whether it is indicated depends on the source of pain on the MRI. If there is disc herniation, or osteophytes (bony fragments) which can be removed surgery may be of help.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Read below.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
The first manifestation which you refer, the fact of not being able to move your legs is a worrying fact. It shouldn't normally happen. An epidural injection doesn't touch the spinal cord, it injects in the space around it, so shouldn't affect movement. If you had reported it at the time I would have advised urgent neck imaging for the possibility of an epidural haematoma, a blood collection in the epidural space compressing the spinal cord. It is a very rare complication, but is known to be a possibility. Now though if you've completely recovered your movement of the limbs, feel no numbness or bladder emptying issues I think the danger moment has passed. I still think it might have been a case of an epidural haematoma (and imaging is still advised), but it must have stopped and is being reabsorbed, I do not think it will leave any damage or warrant any procedure.
As for the red blood in your stool, that is not related with the epidural or the neck issues. It must be looked at by physical rectal exam, stool analysis and at times if no evident cause such as hemorrhoids is found, a colonoscopy.
As for the further management of neck pain....over the counter pain killers I suppose have already been tried. Physical therapy is very important it is the only measure to mediate a lasting benefit. The next step is epidural injection which doesn't seem to have worked for you. It may be repeated at a later time in theory, but I doubt you'll opt for it. The last option is surgery, but whether it is indicated depends on the source of pain on the MRI. If there is disc herniation, or osteophytes (bony fragments) which can be removed surgery may be of help.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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