The Phoenix metro is wide enough that a single procedure site would mean an hour in the car for half of the people who need one. Interventional appointments run at Mesa in the East Valley and at Westgate in Glendale on the west side instead. Both have fluoroscopy on site.
You are assessed at whichever clinic is convenient — Deer Valley, North Phoenix on Dunlap, Peoria, Chandler, Mesa or Westgate — and the procedure is scheduled at whichever of them sits on your side of the Loop 101.
The target is a few millimetres wide and sits next to structures nobody wants a needle in. Fluoroscopy lets the physician watch the needle the whole way and confirm the medication has spread where it was meant to go before the appointment ends.
That confirmation is what makes the result interpretable. Without it, an injection that does not help leaves you unsure whether the theory was wrong or the medication simply went somewhere else.
Leg pain that starts in April frequently goes unaddressed until autumn, because summer already keeps people indoors and the usual warning sign — I cannot walk as far as I used to — never shows up. By October the leg has been quiet for months and the strength has gone with it.
The practical consequence is that the injection often needs to be paired with rebuilding work rather than standing alone. Calming the root is the fast part; getting a leg that has not been used since spring back to normal takes longer and is the part worth starting early.
Plan for a couple of hours at the clinic including check-in and the observation period afterwards, though the procedure itself is short. The skin is numbed before anything else happens.
Bring a driver if sedation has been discussed. Drink water before and after, particularly in summer, and skip the gym that day. Ordinary walking is encouraged from the moment you leave.
In Arizona most major commercial plans are accepted and we are in network with most Medicare Advantage plans. AHCCCS is accepted for Pain Management only. Your benefits are checked before you come in.
Injuries from a motor vehicle collision are billed through the auto policy or an attorney lien; workplace injuries run through the carrier handling the claim. No referral is needed for an assessment and appointments are usually available within the same week.
See also the epidural steroid injection page and Pain Management in Phoenix.
Other Phoenix pages by complaint: sciatica treatment in Phoenix, herniated disc treatment in Phoenix, low back pain treatment in Phoenix, neck pain treatment in Phoenix, knee pain treatment in Phoenix and neuropathy treatment in Phoenix. And by procedure: radiofrequency ablation in Phoenix, spinal cord stimulator trials in Phoenix, kyphoplasty in Phoenix and nerve block in Phoenix.
Every clinic below has Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, Acupuncture and Pain Management on one chart, so care can move between them without a new referral.
Downtown out through the north, west, south and east suburbs.
Academy, InterQuest and Tenderfoot cover the north, central and south of the city.
Harmony in Fort Collins and our Greeley clinic serve Larimer and Weld counties.
Across the Valley, from the West Valley through Phoenix to the East Valley.
Mesa or Westgate, whichever is on your side of the valley. Both have fluoroscopy on site.
Interventional appointments need the imaging equipment, and that lives at Mesa and Westgate. Everything before and after the procedure can stay at your usual clinic.
Give it a day. Walking is fine immediately; loaded or repetitive exercise is better left until the injection site has settled.
It can, for a few days, which matters if you are diabetic. Tell us at booking and monitor a little more closely that week.
The numbing agent may give a few good hours. The steroid usually takes several days, so judge it at the end of the first week.
Yes, when the first one helped and the benefit faded. The interval comes from how you responded, not from a fixed calendar.
For Pain Management only. Most major commercial plans are accepted and most Medicare Advantage plans are in network in Arizona.
Tell us where you are driving from. Between Mesa and Westgate there is usually one that does not involve crossing the metro.
Epidural Steroid Injection is performed in office at our Mesa and Westgate clinics. No referral is needed to be evaluated, and appointments are usually available within the same week.
