Abstract
There is little doubt that anesthetic and steroid injections can lead to dramatic pain relief in some patients with sciatica. Similarly, surgery can provide almost immediate relief of excruciating pain in some patients. As a rule, injections provide transient relief whereas surgery offers the possibility of a cure. The challenge is to determine the most effective treatment with the least likelihood of complications. Although we now have more than a century of experience with these treatments for sciatica there are still many unanswered questions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Suggested Additional Reading
Finger S. Origins of neuroscience. A history into brain function. New York: Oxford University Press; 2001.
Fulton JF. Harvey cushing. A biography. Springfield: Charles C Thomas; 1946.
McCulloch JA. Principles of microsurgery for lumbar disc disease. New York: Raven Press; 1989.
Reddi D, Curran N. Chronic pain after surgery: pathophysiology, risk factors and prevention. Postgrad Med J. 2014;90:222–7.
Weber H. Lumbar disc herniation. A controlled, prospective study with ten years of observation. Spine. 1983;8:131–40.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Baloh, R.W. (2019). Anesthetics, Steroids and Surgery for Sciatica. In: Sciatica and Chronic Pain. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93904-9_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93904-9_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93903-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93904-9
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)