Epidural steroid injections are one of the most common treatments people try when back pain or sciatica won’t go away.
For some people, they provide real relief.
But many patients come in saying something like:
“It didn’t help at all.”
“It helped for a week, then the pain came back.”
“I went through the whole process and nothing changed.”
This can feel incredibly frustrating, especially when you were hoping it would be the solution.
If you’ve had an epidural that didn’t work — or only worked briefly — you’re definitely not alone.
An epidural steroid injection is meant to:
Reduce inflammation
Calm irritated nerves
Decrease pain signals
For some people, this leads to:
Significant pain relief
Improved movement
Temporary or long-term improvement
But results can vary widely.
There are several reasons an epidural may not provide the relief someone hoped for.
Steroid injections work best when inflammation is a major part of the pain. If the problem is more related to mechanical pressure or structural stress, reducing inflammation alone may not fully change the symptoms.
In those cases, people may notice:
Little to no change
Very short-term improvement
Pain returning quickly
Injections can calm irritated tissues, but they don’t change how the area is being loaded during daily life.
People still:
Sit
Drive
Lift
Bend
Work
If the same area continues to experience stress, symptoms may remain or return.
Sometimes nerves become highly reactive after being irritated for a long time.
In these cases:
Relief may be minimal
Or it may only last a short time
Symptoms may quickly return
This doesn’t mean the injection was done incorrectly — it may simply mean the underlying sensitivity is still there.
Back and leg pain can involve multiple structures, including:
Muscles
Joints
Discs
Nerve pathways
An injection is one approach that helps some people a great deal. But it doesn’t address every possible source of stress in the lower back.
This is another very common story.
Patients often say:
“I had amazing relief for about 10 days.”
“It helped at first, then the pain slowly came back.”
This can happen when inflammation is temporarily reduced, but the original irritation builds again over time.
It can feel like progress… followed by disappointment.
When an injection doesn’t work, many people start to worry:
“What’s wrong with me?”
“Is surgery next?”
“Am I just stuck with this?”
But one treatment not working doesn’t mean nothing will help. It simply means that approach may not have addressed the main driver of the symptoms.
At Frisco Spinal Rehab, we often meet people who tried epidural injections and were hoping for long-term relief. Some had no improvement at all. Others felt better briefly, then the symptoms returned.
In many of these cases, the lower back was still under ongoing mechanical stress that hadn’t fully settled. Understanding that bigger picture can help explain why the injection didn’t create lasting change.
Epidural steroid injections can help reduce inflammation and relieve pain for some people. But if the main source of irritation is still present, the relief may be short-lived — or may not happen at all.
If you’ve tried an injection and didn’t get the results you hoped for, it doesn’t mean you’re out of options. It may simply mean the cause of the pain needs to be looked at from a different angle.
I have a herniated disk in my neck….c5 and c6. I’ve had 2 epidural shots, no relief..I was hoping surgery was not the answer…because I dont want to do that.
I’m sorry you’re dealing with that. Many people hope to avoid surgery, especially when epidural injections haven’t provided relief. The good news is that surgery is not always the next step, but it depends on factors such as the severity of the disc herniation, the amount of nerve compression, and whether you’re experiencing significant weakness or loss of function.
If you haven’t already, consider discussing all conservative options with your doctor, including physical therapy, activity modifications, medications, and other non-surgical treatments that may be appropriate for your situation. However, if you develop progressive arm weakness, problems with balance, or worsening symptoms, it’s important to seek prompt medical evaluation, as those can sometimes indicate a need for surgical intervention.
I hope you find relief soon and are able to avoid surgery if possible.
hi
i’ve been experience pain in my right neck since 2018,first there’s burning sensation on my anterior right neck,now stiffnes dan pain from base of my skull to my shoulder,but no tingling to my arm or finger
my mri show mild protusion dan dsic bulging on c4-c5,c5-c6,c6-c7
i’ve been doing racz catheter,and steroid injection on my dorsal scapular nerve but have no effect
my neurosurgeon paln to do PLDD or BESS surgery,what do you think,thank you
Hi,
Thank you for your question. Based on what you describe, one thing I would want clarified before proceeding with surgery is whether the disc findings on your MRI are actually the source of your pain.
Mild disc protrusions and bulges at C4-5, C5-6 and C6-7 do not necessarily mean that those discs are causing your symptoms. The fact that your pain is primarily from the base of the skull into the neck and shoulder, without numbness, tingling or pain traveling into the arm or fingers, makes it especially important to correlate the MRI with a thorough neurological and orthopedic examination.
PLDD and BESS are very different procedures, and both depend heavily on selecting the right patient. Published research on cervical BESS has generally involved patients with symptomatic cervical disc herniation and often radicular symptoms, while PLDD is generally considered for carefully selected contained disc herniations.
Before undergoing either procedure, I would ask your neurosurgeon a very specific question: “What finding tells you that one of these discs is the source of my neck and shoulder pain, and which exact level are you treating?”
With symptoms present since 2018 and several procedures already providing no benefit, I would also be comfortable obtaining a second opinion from another spine specialist before proceeding with surgery. There can be other sources of neck and shoulder pain that may not be corrected by treating a mildly bulging disc.
If you develop weakness, significant numbness, problems with balance or walking, loss of hand coordination, or bowel or bladder changes, that would warrant prompt medical evaluation.
I hope this helps, and I wish you the best in finding the source of the problem before deciding on your next treatment.
Dr. Kaff