Jeff Langmaid breaks down a major neurology review of 90 randomized trials on epidural steroid injections. The evidence is mixed on whether they actually reduce pain or disability, yet some pain clinics give them daily in high volume. He walks through the research so you can decide what to recommend.
90 randomized controlled trials.
"40 to 45 patients a day."
So this was a review as conducted by the American Academy of Neurology, and they looked at 90 randomized controlled trials to really start to determine do epidural steroid injections actually reduce pain and disability in the short and or the long term. The results, I'm going to say, may not be surprising to you, but they are certainly something you need to pay attention to. And why do I say that? You know, I've had a bone to pick with, with steroid injections for a long time. I just, I don't understand how there are pain management doctors out there that believe book 40 to 45 patients a day, bounce between two rooms pushing the plunger and they're able to bill our healthcare system and get reimbursement for something that I just think doesn't work very well if at all. That's not to mention the off label use, that's not to mention the fact that I could go on and on. But the bottom line is today we're actually gonna take a look at the research and you can make your own determination when patients ask you about what they should do on what you recommend.
