Cookiepic, I had one epidural spine injection that was done as a diagnostic procedure. It caused a new immediate sharp intense paraesthesia pain that was burning electric pain in the thumb and forefingers of my dominant hand. It calmed down the pre-existing pains caused by spinal cord compression for only a few days before they started returning. It took about 6 weeks for the paraesthesia to subside and then I was left with cold sensitivity in my hand for about a year and a half. I'm not doing that again. This isn't an FDA approved use of steroids as an injection in the spine, and it can be dangerous if done improperly. I may have had an inflammatory response to a component in the injection. This is also used to postpone spine surgeries and doesn't fix anything. A surgeon may not want to take a risk on a patient, and the spinal injection helps him avoid it. The steroid injected will also obscure the image on an MRI which takes about 6 weeks to resolve before a clean MRI image can be obtained.

You may want to seek other spine surgery opinions. While surgery is a last resort, it also is most successful when it is done before permanent damage occurs to the spinal cord or nerves. It all depends on how fast it is advancing and how stable or unstable your spine is, and what is the degree of compression of the nerves and spinal cord. I was at an increased risk of paralysis if I was in an accident with my spine in that condition. I also saw the amount of bone spurs pressing on the spinal cord double in 9 months time on subsequent MRIs. Your spine specialist should advise you on when the time is right for surgical intervention. You might get different answers from different surgeons as well as different ways to fix a problem. Whenever that time is right, make sure you have been seen by the surgeon you want to do the job. Sometimes they back out if there are too many complicating factors. Your choice of a surgeon can make a huge difference in your outcome. Make sure you are in good hands and ready when the time comes.

I didn't think cervical spine surgery with a frontal approach (ACDF) was that bad. It is a long recovery and mine was 3 months in a collar until fused, then some months of rehab because the neck muscles gets weak in a collar that long. I am glad I did the surgery and I was in constant pain before hand.

I’ve put off any injection in my cervical spine as well. I, like you, have done extensive research and relief does seem to be short lived. Has to be repeated, can cause worse pain, etc. all very scary.

I may try it anyway.

They did dry needling on my neck at PT - scapula area where the pain radiates down my back/shoulder from my neck. Didn’t seem to do much. Didn’t hurt though, worth a try.