An epidural is an injection in your back to stop you feeling pain in part of your body. This page covers epidural anaesthesia, a type of epidural commonly given for pain relief in childbirth and in some types of surgery.
An epidural is a procedure that involves injecting a medication — either an anesthetic or a steroid — into the space around your spinal nerves known as the epidural space. The goal of an epidural procedure is to provide pain relief (analgesia) or a complete lack of feeling (anesthesia) for one region of your body, such as your legs or belly.
An epidural is commonly called the following terms:
- Epidural anesthesia.
- Epidural block.
- Epidural steroid injection (ESI).
- Regional anesthesia.
- Neuraxial anesthesia.
How does an epidural work?
An epidural anesthesia injection works by injecting an anesthetic into the epidural space around your spine so that it can stop pain signals from traveling from your spine to your brain. The epidural space is filled with fluid and surrounds your spinal cord. Think of it as a liquid sleeve around your spinal cord.
Your spinal cord acts like a highway that connects the nerves located all over your body to your brain. When you get injured, for example, the nerve in that area of your body sends a pain signal that travels through your spinal cord to your brain and back. An epidural anesthetic temporarily numbs the spinal nerves, which then blocks pain signals in a certain region of your body depending on where along your spine your provider injected the epidural.
Epidural anesthesia can provide temporary pain relief or a temporary total lack of feeling. The following factors contribute to how much feeling you temporarily lose from an epidural:
- The type of anesthetic drug your provider uses.
- The concentration of the drug (how strong it is).
- The dosage of the drug.
An epidural steroid injection (ESI) works slightly differently and is used for chronic pain management. Instead of anesthetic medication, your provider injects a steroid or corticosteroid medication into the epidural space around your spine. Instead of blocking pain or feeling in a region of your body, the steroid coats the irritated nerve(s) that are causing you pain and works to reduce swelling. The steroid allows the nerve(s) time to heal. Epidural steroid injections can lead to temporary, long-term or permanent pain relief.
