What is a transforaminal injection?
Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injections (TFESI)
Transforaminal injections can help relieve pain in your lower back, legs and feet caused by sciatica, herniated discs, or other back problems. You have nerves that run from your spinal cord out to your legs. When one of those nerve “roots” (the end closest to your spinal cord) gets irritated and inflamed due to a damaged disc or other condition, it causes pain that can radiate from your back to your legs and feet. A steroid medication can help reduce the inflammation and alleviate the pain. It’s injected into your back, into the epidural space surrounding the affected nerve root.
How effective is a transforaminal injection?
Some patients report pain relief within 30 minutes after the injection, but pain may return a few hours later as the anesthetic wears off. Longer term relief usually begins in two to three days once the steroid begins to work. How long the pain relief lasts are different for each patient. For some, the relief lasts several months or longer. If the treatment works for you, you can have periodic injections to stay pain free.
