Effect of lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections on extruded lumbar disc herniation

Objective: Extruded lumbar disc herniation is a common disease involving back pain and radicular pain. Some cases require surgical intervention for persistent severe pain. In other cases, transforaminal epidural steroid injection is the treatment of choice. This study evaluated the effect of transforaminal epidural steroid injections for radicular pain caused by extruded disc herniation. Materials and Methods: Patients not benefiting from previous medical treatments and those not wanting surgical intervention were included in this study. In total, 127 patients received transforaminal epidural steroid injections for the treatment of extruded lumbar disc herniation. All patients were regularly followed up for 12 weeks. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores for radicular pain and neurologic examinations were recorded preprocedure and 12 weeks postprocedure, along with any complications. Results: For radicular pain, the mean preprocedural and postprocedural VASs were 85.81 ± 6.64and 22.81 ± 3.52, respectively. Before treatment, 38 patients had a neurological deficit. At 12 weeks postprocedure, 17 of the 38 patients had no neurological deficit. No complications were noted. Four patients required surgical intervention for unrelieved pain or increased neurological deficit. Conclusion: This study shows that transforaminal epidural steroid injections for extruded lumbar disc herniation effectively relieve radicular pain and may alleviate neurological deficit.