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Cortizone for Relief of Neck Pain

Neck pain, also known as cervical pain, is common and rarely indicative of a serious underlying disorder, according to the Mayo Clinic. Such pain can be acute, lasting for a brief period, or chronic, hanging on for several days or even weeks. According to MedlinePlus, the most common causes of neck pain are muscle strain or tension; injuries, particularly whiplash; worn or arthritic joints; and disk disorders. For some types of neck pain, injections of cortisone can bring significant relief.

  1. What Is Cortisone?

    • On the SpineUniverse website, Lawrence M. Kamhi, M.D., explains that cortisone is closely related to cortisol, which he describes as "the body's natural anti-inflammatory hormone." Kamhi, an interventional pain management specialist at New York City's Beth Israel Medical Center, says corticosteroids, of which cortisone is one example, are not painkillers per se but provide relief by reducing the inflammation that develops around herniated disks in the cervical spine and elsewhere in the body.

    Injection Procedure

    • If your doctor suspects that your neck pain is being caused by pressure on a nerve as it exits the cervical spine, then he will probably order an epidural steroid injection of cortisone to, first, confirm his suspicions and, second, offer relief from the pain you're experiencing. Such injections usually are given after you have been lightly sedated and are targeted at an epidural site, which is described on the American Pain & Wellness website as "an area immediately outside of a protective sac (the dura) which contains the spinal cord."

      Once conscious sedation has been administered, the back of your neck will be thoroughly scrubbed with an anti-bacterial agent. With fluoroscopic X-ray guidance, your doctor will then introduce a needle into the epidural space and inject a small amount of contrast material to confirm proper placement. Once that is confirmed, he will inject a mixture of local anesthetic, such as lidocaine, and cortisone into the epidural area to be treated. The actual injection procedure takes less than 15 minutes, although you may be held at the treatment center or doctor's office until the effects of sedation have worn off.

    Follow-Up Treatment

    • There is no guarantee that an injection of cortisone will resolve your pain, although many patients find relief through this method of treatment. If you get no relief, your doctor certainly will not want to repeat the injection in the same area already treated, although he may suggest injection of another epidural site that he suspects could be causing your pain. It is not always possible to pinpoint exactly which part of the cervical spine is causing your pain. If, however, your first cortisone injection brings relief, your doctor probably will advise you to return periodically for follow-up injections to keep your neck pain at bay.

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