Most procedures involve the use of local anesthetics
(numbing medicine), and sedation (relaxation or nerve medicine). Sedation may
affect your memory, not allowing you to remember the procedure, or the
instructions that we give you after it. Because of this, your Doctor may want
to avoid verbally providing you with important information after the procedure,
since you may not remember. The Doctor will be more than happy to go over the
information upon your return.
Local
anesthetics, on the other hand, may cause temporary numbness and weakness of the legs or arms, depending on the
location of the block. This numbness/weakness may last 4-6 hours (the duration
of the local anesthetic) (In rare instances, it has been seen to last up to 24
hours). During this period of numbness, you must be more careful than usual, to
prevent any injuries to the extremity.
In summary, you
should expect for your pain to get better within 15-20 minutes after the
procedure. This relief or numbness should last 4-6 hours, after which, it will
wear off. Once it wears off, you may experience more pain than usual for
up to 10 (ten) days after your procedure. In the case of certain procedures,
such as radiofrequency, you should expect more pain than usual for 5 to 6 weeks
after the procedure. IDET and implants may take up to 8-10 weeks for the
healing process. This discomfort is due to the procedure itself (needles going
through skin, muscle, and irritation from bleeding and hematomas). To minimize
this, we recommend applying ice (fill a plastic sandwich bag with ice and wrap
it on a towel to prevent frostbite) to the area, 15 minutes on and 15 minutes
off, the day of the procedure. This will minimize any swelling. Starting the
next day, you should then start with heat (moist or dry, it does not matter).
Heat therapy should continue until the pain improves (4-6 days). Be careful not
to burn yourself.
Occasionally you
will also experience muscle spasms and cramps. These occur as a consequence
of the irritation caused by the needle sticks to the muscle and the blood that
will inevitably be lost into the surrounding muscle tissue. Blood tends to be
very irritating to tissues, which tend to react by going into spasm. Sometimes,
the spasms may occur later in the day of your procedure, or even days later.
This type is usually caused as a consequence of the electrolytic imbalance
caused by steroids, at the level of the kidney. Cramps and spasms tent to
respond well to muscle relaxants, taking multivitamins (some are triggered by
the procedure, but may have their origins in vitamin deficiencies), and taking
sports drinks that will correct electrolyte imbalances (Gatorade, etc.) Be careful
if you are a diabetic, they contain sugar. Warm showers or baths may be
extremely helpful in controlling the acute phase. Stretching exercises are also
highly recommended.
·
Medications capable of
causing muscle spasms.
·
Nutritional deficiencies
capable of causing muscle spasms.
·
Other causes
of muscle spasms.