Epidural Steroid Injections Increase the Risk of Vertebral Fractures

Research recently came to light which shows an increased risk of vertebral fracture for patients whom had received lumbar epidural steroid injections.

The study, which appears in theĀ Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, randomly selected 3,000 patients who had a lumbar epidural steroid injection and compared them to 3,000 patients who did not undergo the procedure. There were no significant differences between the groups regarding patient age, gender, corticosteroid use or hyperthyroidism, according to the study abstract.

Researchers found each successive injection increased fracture risk by a factor of 1.21. This is extremely important because many patients receive multiple ESI’s (therefore increasing their risk of fracture).

Here’s a link to this fascinating article….please share it with your friends, family and loved ones and don’t hesitate to call us to discuss a better option.

http://www.healio.com/orthopedics/spine/news/online/%7B1C49EE96-CE0C-4A3A-83F1-D4CDFCCA17BC%7D/Steroid-injection-linked-to-increased-risk-of-vertebral-body-fractures