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Clinical topic
    Evidence-Based Spine Surgery 2009; 5: 17-33
DOI: 10.1055/s-0028-1100858

© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Lumbar radiculopathy
Epidural injection of steroid and pain medication versus placebo

Summary

Epidural steroid injections for treatment of sciatica did not confer
significant additional benefit over placebo injection in patients who
had had symptoms for less than one year. While steroid injections may
afford short-term improvements in pain and movement, this beneficial
effect was transient, and there was no statistical difference between
active and placebo treatments after 4 weeks of follow-up. Treatment of
sciatica with epidural steroids has exhibited no significant
functional benefit, nor does it reduce the need for surgery. Outcomes
varied minimally by injection site across studies, not based on direct
comparisons.