« Back to Services

The following are common side effects you may experience following your spinal injection:

• Motor weakness/numbness. The weakness/numbness you may experience in your leg or arm following the injection typically wears off in three to six hours. You must have someone drive you home. Do not drive until you have normal sensation and strength. Plan to have someone available to assist you with your activities until the anesthetic wears off and the numbness and weakness resolve. Take extra care when walking on steps or uneven surfaces. No additional restrictions will be needed for the day following the injection.

The steroid medication may produce some common side effects. These include:

• Steroid flush — Symptoms include a hot sensation with flushing of the neck, face and chest.
• Irritability/Insomnia — This may persist for two to three days but will gradually subside.
• Stomach irritability — You may call your physician's nurse to order a short course of medication to relieve these symptoms.
• Injection site soreness — This is normal and will subside in a few days. Often an ice pack helps with pain relief.

Please be aware that some patients experience more leg or arm pain than before the injection. This may be accompanied by an increase in neck or back pain as well. The pain generally decreases after a couple of days.

If you receive sedation there may be post-procedure nausea, or more rarely, hiccups. Please contact your physician's nurse if this does not subside in three to six hours.

You may resume your regular pre-procedure medication; however, you may not need to restart your anti-inflammatory medication, as the cortisone is a powerful anti-inflammatory medication.

Call your doctor's office if you have any side effects such as fever greater than 100 degrees F, redness at the block site, problems with urination, severe headache, persisting motor weakness, or severe pain.