Where in Dubai
Dr. Subhash Ushakoyala, Specialist Orthopaedic Surgeon, sees patients with nerve pain from the back or neck at Grand Infinity Medical Center in Al Muteena, Deira, Dubai. Bring your MRI images and report, and a list of every medicine you take, especially blood thinners and diabetes medicines. If you are considering an injection, ask the clinic to check your insurance cover first.
What is spinal epidural steroid injection?
An epidural steroid injection places a steroid (cortisone), usually with a local anaesthetic, into the epidural space. This is the area just outside the protective covering around the spinal cord and nerve roots. It is used for pain that starts in the spine and spreads down a leg (sciatica) or down an arm, when a nerve is inflamed or pressed, most often by a slipped disc. The steroid aims to calm the inflammation around the nerve, and the anaesthetic numbs it for a short time. The needle is often guided by X-ray so the medicine reaches the right place. The injection does not repair the disc. It is one part of a plan that includes exercise.
Who it can help
- Severe leg pain (sciatica) from a slipped disc in the lower back.
- Arm pain from a pressed nerve in the neck.
- Nerve pain that is stopping you from moving and doing your exercises.
- Nerve pain that has not settled with pain relief and physiotherapy.
How Dr. Subhash approaches it
Spinal epidural injections are on Dr. Subhash's own list of services. He considers one when severe nerve pain from the lower back or neck has not settled, or is stopping you from staying active. Before advising it he examines you, reviews your MRI, and asks about blood thinners, diabetes and allergies. He explains what the injection can and cannot do, the risks, where it will be done, and the exercises that should go with it.
What to expect
Assessment
He examines your back or neck and the nerves to your legs or arms, and reviews your scans.
Deciding together
He explains whether an injection fits your pain, what it aims to do, and the risks.
Before the injection
Tell him about blood thinners, diabetes, allergies and any steroid injections in the past year.
The injection
The skin is cleaned and numbed, then the needle is placed near the affected nerve and the medicine injected.
Afterwards
You are watched for a short time before going home. Ask him whether you may drive that day.
Exercise and review
You continue the stretching and strengthening exercises, and he checks how much the pain has eased.
Recovery, in general terms
Every patient is different. These are typical milestones, not a promise; your own plan comes from your consultation.
- The local anaesthetic can ease pain for a few hours, then wear off.
- Any benefit from the steroid comes over the following days, and how long it lasts varies from person to person.
- Take it gently for the first few days, then build up your exercises again.
Risks to know about
- A short rise in blood sugar, which matters if you have diabetes.
- Infection or bleeding where the needle goes in, which is uncommon.
- For up to a month after a steroid injection, your body may make less of its own steroid hormone. Tell any doctor treating you that you had one.
When to book a visit
Book a visit if leg or arm pain from your back or neck is severe, or has not improved after a few weeks. After an injection, call the clinic the same day if you have a fever, or the needle site becomes red, hot or swollen. Go to emergency care straight away if you have numbness around your bottom or genitals, cannot control when you pass urine or open your bowels, or have weakness or numbness in both legs. Do not drive yourself.
Where to book
Dr. Subhash sees patients at Grand Infinity Medical Center in Al Muteena, Deira, in north-east Dubai. The clinic is at Shop No. 4, next to the Grand Excelsior Hotel.
Grand Infinity Medical Center
Shop No. 4, next to Grand Excelsior Hotel, Al Muteena, Deira, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
DirectionsCall +971 58 599 7460WhatsApp
Questions patients ask
Will my insurance in Dubai cover an epidural injection?
It depends on your plan. Many insurers need approval before a spinal injection. Ask the clinic how approval works for your plan.
Does an epidural injection cure a slipped disc?
No. It aims to calm the inflamed nerve so the pain eases while the disc settles. It is meant to be used alongside an exercise programme.
Can the injection be repeated?
Sometimes, if the first one helped. Too many steroid injections in the same area can harm the tissues, so doctors usually advise no more than three in the same area in a year.
Does it help every kind of back pain?
No. It is used for nerve pain that spreads down a leg or arm. UK guidance (NICE) advises against it for leg pain on walking caused by narrowing of the central spinal canal.
Book an appointment
His nurse answers the phone and WhatsApp.