Tucson Social Security Disability Blog

One More Treatment That Does Not Work.

Posted by

You can apparently add steroid injections to the list of treatments that do not substantially improve back pain.  Steroid injections can provide some relief, but it is only temporary. As in, a few weeks to a few months.  These injections do nothing to reduce the likelihood of spinal surgery.  So says Dr. Roger Chou of the Oregon Health And Sciences University. His new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine looked at the results of thirty studies on the effectiveness of steroid injections.  While the injections provided short-term relief for such conditions as sciatica, they did nothing at all for spinal stenosis.  So why do steroid injections persist as a treatment? It appears to me that it is because health insurers insist that doctors take all steps short of back surgery.  I guess the insurers think that some people will give up and never follow through with back surgery.  I have had dozens of clients who ended up getting back surgeries. All of them went down the same path: PT, traction, injections, spinal stimulators–anything save for surgery. When all of the conservative steps fail, the insurer still ends up paying for back surgery. Perhaps this new study will encourage health insurers to stop playing games and get people who need surgery into the OR, Stat!

New Study Shows Steroid Injections No Long-Term Solution To Back Pain. 

Hearing scheduled? Call Today.

If Social Security has scheduled your disability case to be heard by one of their judges, call me immediately. Unlike many large law firms, I can move quickly to get your case ready to be won.

Recent Posts


About The Author

Since 1992, I have been helping the people of Southern Arizona get the benefits they are due. Before devoting all my efforts to assisting people with Social Security disability claims, I also handled such complex lawsuits as medical malpractice and products liability. I brought to my Social Security cases all the skills and attention to detail that I developed in the courtroom. I approach each Social Security disability case as if it were a million-dollar lawsuit. For the people trying to get Social Security benefits, their claim is every bit as important. Because I have personally handled so many Social Security cases, I have refined the skills I need to win your case for you. I have helped people win cases for every kind of ailment from arthritis to valley fever. At present, I am focused on helping those persons with neurological and orthopedic disorders. Because claims for people over age fifty bring additional complications, I particularly seek out those cases to work on. I regularly write about back and spine conditions on my blog. I actively seek out the latest information about orthopedic and neurological disorders to ensure I can represent my clients as effectively as possible. Because of my current focus, I regret that I am not able to take any cases for mental disorders. If you are over age fifty and suffer from any orthopedic or neurological disorder, please contact me at once.