Selective Nerve Root Injection

A selective nerve root injection (SNRI) is a minimally invasive, image-guided procedure used to diagnose and treat inflamed spinal nerves. The injection delivers corticosteroid and local anesthetic medication directly around a specific nerve root in the cervical spine (neck), thoracic spine (mid-back), or lumbar spine (low back).

Selective nerve root injections are commonly performed to relieve radicular pain, including arm pain or sciatica caused by nerve compression.

What Is a Selective Nerve Root Injection?

A selective nerve root injection targets a single spinal nerve root suspected of causing pain. The procedure serves both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

Diagnostic Purpose:
If numbing the targeted nerve significantly reduces symptoms, the physician can confirm that the specific nerve root is the source of pain.

Therapeutic Purpose:
The corticosteroid reduces inflammation around the nerve, helping relieve radiculopathy and nerve-related pain.

Conditions Treated

Selective nerve root injections are indicated for:

  1. Lumbar radiculopathy (sciatica)
  2. Cervical radiculopathy (radiating arm pain)
  3. Disc herniation
  4. Recurrent radiculopathy after discectomy
  5. Failed back surgery syndrome with atypical extremity pain
  6. Atypical arm or leg pain
  7. Transitional vertebrae
  8. Conjoined nerve roots or furcal nerves
  9. Cases where MRI findings do not clearly correlate with symptoms

This procedure is particularly useful when imaging studies do not provide a definitive diagnosis.

Symptoms of Upper Cervical Joint Dysfunction

Patients who may benefit from a selective nerve root injection often experience:

  1. Radiating arm or leg pain
  2. Numbness or tingling in a dermatomal distribution
  3. Muscle weakness
  4. Sharp, shooting nerve pain
  5. Persistent pain after spine surgery

When multiple levels appear abnormal on imaging, a selective nerve root injection helps isolate the symptomatic nerve.

Table of Contents

How the Procedure Is Performed

Selective nerve root injections are performed in an outpatient setting under fluoroscopic (live X-ray) guidance.

The procedure includes:

  1. Positioning the patient comfortably.
  2. Cleaning and sterilizing the skin over the spine.
  3. Numbing the area with local anesthetic.
  4. Guiding a small needle to the targeted nerve root using imaging guidance.
  5. Injecting contrast dye to confirm precise placement.
  6. Delivering corticosteroid and anesthetic medication around the nerve.

The procedure typically takes 15 to 30 minutes.

Benefits of Selective Nerve Root Injections

  • Accurate identification of the pain-generating nerve
  • Targeted anti-inflammatory treatment
  • Relief of radicular arm or leg pain
  • Minimally invasive outpatient procedure
  • Improved decision-making for surgical planning

Begin your journey to recovery.

Reach out to our specialists to schedule an initial consultation. We’ll carefully review your symptoms and match you with the right expert for your specific condition.

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infor@urbanspinejoint.com

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