If you’re waking at night because of searing pain shooting down your leg — or finding it impossible to sit through a meal, a car ride, or a workday without that familiar burning, electric sensation radiating from your lower back into your foot — you already know that ibuprofen isn’t going to fix this. Sciatica, herniated discs, and spinal stenosis are structural problems that demand a structural solution. Our epidural steroid injections in Mesa, AZ target the source of your nerve root inflammation with precision fluoroscopic guidance, delivering relief that allows you to move, sleep, and live again. As a back pain specialist serving Mesa and the East Valley, City Health Services uses image-confirmed needle placement — not blind cortisone shots — to ensure the right medication reaches the right location in your spinal canal.

What Are Epidural Steroid Injections?

An epidural steroid injection (ESI) is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure in which a physician injects a precise combination of corticosteroid and local anesthetic — sometimes called a numbing agent — directly into the epidural space between the protective dura mater surrounding the spinal cord and the inner wall of the spinal canal. This is not a generalized cortisone shot in the back. It is a fluoroscopy-guided, image-confirmed ESI injection designed to deliver medication within millimeters of the inflamed nerve root responsible for your specific pattern of radiating leg pain or arm pain.

By bathing the irritated nerve tissue in corticosteroid, the injection reduces swelling, calms the inflammatory cascade driving your pain, and breaks the cycle of nerve irritation that has been limiting your function for weeks or months. The result is a meaningful therapeutic window during which physical therapy, chiropractic rehabilitation, and functional movement can produce lasting structural improvement.

Clinical Benefits of ESI

• Rapid, targeted reduction of nerve root inflammation and associated radiating leg or arm pain
• Non-surgical alternative for sciatica, herniated disc pain, and lumbar epidural injection-eligible spinal stenosis
• Creates a therapeutic window for productive physical therapy and chiropractic rehabilitation
• Outpatient procedure — no hospital admission, no general anesthesia, no surgical recovery period
• Covered by Medicare and most major commercial insurance plans when medically indicated
• Dramatically reduces reliance on oral opioid or NSAID pain medications
• Available as lumbar epidural injection or cervical epidural at the appropriate spinal level

The ESI Procedure: Step by Step

Before Your Appointment

You will be asked to inform our team of any blood thinners, anticoagulants, or diabetes medications, as these may require temporary adjustment before the procedure. Most ESIs are performed without sedation using only a local numbing agent at the skin surface, so fasting is typically not required — but your provider will confirm based on your specific plan.

Positioning and Preparation

You lie face-down on a padded fluoroscopy table. The injection site on your back or neck is cleaned with antiseptic solution, and a small volume of local anesthetic numbs the skin and subcutaneous tissue at the needle entry point.

Fluoroscopic Guidance Into the Spinal Canal

Using live X-ray imaging (fluoroscopy), your physician advances a thin spinal needle toward the epidural space at the precise spinal level corresponding to your affected nerve root within the spinal canal. A small volume of contrast dye is injected first to confirm accurate placement within the epidural space before any therapeutic medication is administered. This imaging step is what separates a precision ESI injection from a blind cortisone shot — and what makes it consistently effective.

Injection and Recovery

The corticosteroid and numbing agent solution is slowly delivered over 30-60 seconds. The complete procedure takes approximately 15-25 minutes. Most patients feel mild pressure during needle placement. You will rest in our recovery area for 20-30 minutes before discharge. The local anesthetic may produce immediate but temporary relief lasting several hours. The steroid’s full anti-inflammatory effect on nerve root inflammation develops over 3-7 days. You may return to light activity the same day.

Am I a Good Candidate for Epidural Steroid Injections in Mesa AZ?

ESI with our Mesa back pain specialist team may be the right next step if you check any of the following boxes:

• You have an MRI or CT-confirmed herniated disc with nerve root contact producing herniated disc pain at one or more lumbar or cervical levels
• You experience sciatica — radiating leg pain, numbness, tingling, or weakness extending from the lower back into the leg or foot
• You have lumbar spinal stenosis with neurogenic claudication
• You have cervical radiculopathy — arm pain, numbness, or weakness from nerve compression in the neck requiring cervical epidural treatment
• Conservative care including physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, and oral medications has been tried for 6 or more weeks without adequate relief
• You want a non-surgical alternative and are willing to combine lumbar epidural injection therapy with active rehabilitation

ESI is typically not performed for patients with active spinal infection, uncontrolled coagulation disorders, documented allergy to contrast dye or corticosteroids, or uncontrolled diabetes. A complete medical history review occurs at your initial appointment before any procedure is scheduled.