Back pain after an epidural is a widespread occurrence and can persist for weeks or even months after delivery. Fortunately, chiropractic care has helped many women find safe and natural pain relief from epidural side effects.
Epidurals can cause back pain years later, although this is rare. While epidurals may leave a mother with some soreness at the administration site for a few days or weeks, lasting or recurring back pain is not typical. It may occur, however, because of damage to the spine, nerves, or other structures.
While it's very rare, having an epidural procedure can lead to some long-term complications, including: Permanent neurologic deficit due to spinal cord or nerve root damage from the epidural injection. Chronic pain due to due to spinal cord or nerve root damage from the epidural injection.
Potential Epidural Side Effects Long Term
Nerve root damage in the spinal cord, caused by injection. Hematoma leading to paralysis, caused by an accumulation of blood between the spine and the dura mater. Lower back pain, or other back problems that cycle on and off indefinitely.
Many people suffer from postpartum back pain due in part to ligamentous laxity, which occurs when your ligaments are too loose to hold your joints in the proper position. Joint instability causes your muscles to compensate, usually by tightening, which can cause pain.
Because of the close proximity of the needle and catheter to the spine, any issues with placement can cause spinal injuries or nerve damage. Women who suffer nerve damage might experience associated back pain that continues for years.
The most common example is nerve damage that results from the injection itself. This will usually impact a single nerve and cause numbness on the skin or limited weakness in the muscles, along with back pain. There may also be sensory issues or loss of motor control associated with nerve damage.
Permanent damage to nerves is very rare. The risk of longer-lasting problems after a spinal or epidural injection is: Permanent harm occurs between 1 in 23,500 and 1 in 50,500 spinal or epidural injections.
If you or a loved one has suffered pain, paralysis, or any other medical condition after receiving an epidural injection, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Lumbar epidural steroid injections most often lead to temporary pain relief that lasts for three months or more, but some people may experience less or no pain relief from the injection.
Potential side effects of an epidural may include headache, soreness, urination problems, and a decrease in blood pressure. While long-term complications are extremely rare, they may result in permanent nerve damage and persistent numbness and tingling.
Persistent or newly developed pain in the lower back after pregnancy, also known as postpartum back pain, usually lasts for 6 months but may continue up to a decade.
An epidural abscess results in a pocket of pus that builds up and causes swelling. It can press against your bones and the membranes that protect your spinal cord and your brain (meninges). This swelling and the underlying infection can affect sensations and physical movement and can cause other problems.
Sciatica after epidural
There is a small risk of injury to a nerve during the injection that may trigger sciatica. These side effects are usually short term and typically resolve within a few days.
In general, osteoarthritis (the most common type of arthritis) and degenerative disk disease (the natural wear and tear of spinal disks) are the underlying cause of many types of chronic lower back pain. However, lower back pain can also be caused by accident-related trauma and acute stress.
Spinal anesthesia involves the injection of numbing medicine directly into the fluid sac. Epidurals involve the injection into the space outside the sac (epidural space).
Constant tingle or numbness – if your epidural is administered incorrectly, your feet and legs will experience numbness or a tingling feeling that never goes away. The sensation occurs hours, days, or weeks after the epidural injection and can be a sign of nerve damage.
In summary, lumbar intervertebral disc prolapse, while not common, occurs more frequently in pregnant women and may be the cause of lower back and neurological symptoms after labour and delivery with epidural analgesia.
Spinal nerve root compression is one of the most painful back conditions; sometimes so limiting that patients can no longer hold a job. If you fall within this category, the good news is that you may qualify for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits for spinal nerve root compression back pain.
Electromyography (EMG) records electrical activity in your muscles to detect nerve damage. A thin needle (electrode) is inserted into the muscle to measure electrical activity as you contract the muscle.
Nerve pain often feels like a shooting, stabbing or burning sensation. Sometimes it can feel as sharp and sudden as an electric shock. You may be very sensitive to touch or cold. You may also experience pain as a result of touch that would not normally be painful, such as something lightly brushing your skin.
Can I utilize chiropractic or physical therapy after the procedure? Absolutely. I've spoken a bit in the past about epidural steroid injections—this is a very common, conservative treatment option for disc problems and nerve root irritations typically occurring in the neck and low back.
Back pain and other symptoms after an epidural are usually temporary and should resolve on their own within a few days or weeks after the procedure. If back pain and other symptoms persist or become severe, you should seek medical attention.
The epidural space is located where the bones and discs of the spine surround the nerves and spinal cord. This is the space into which disc tissue can herniate and cause pressure and inflammation around spinal nerves.