7 Reasons You Should Avoid Epidural Injections in Your Spine

  • FDA PDF DownloadEpidural Injections into your spine for bad discs or pain are NOT FDA APPROVED. (This fact is not a criticism of using epidural injections during labor.) We are specifically referring to the use of epidural injections as treatment for the pain of sciatica, stenosis, arthritis, degenerative, bulging and herniated discs.
  • The reason they are NOT FDA APPROVED is because they have not been proven to be safe or effective at all for that purpose. Yet, medical professionals are still advising this unproven approach to patients as an answer. Using these shots that are not designed to help your spine, your discs, or your pain, is known as in the drug and medical industries as “off label” use. How does that sit with you? Is it really the answer you are looking for or deserve?
  • Epidural Injections are destructive and dangerous to your health; which is why the FDA will not approve them as treat­ment for spinal pain, sciatica, stenos is, and other disc issues. They simply do much more damage than good to you – espe­cially if you have received more than one injection! Even one single injection could cause permanent bone loss (osteoporosis) and increase your chances of a future spinal fracture by 21 %.
  • There are also additional dangers that the proponents of epidural injections don’t want you to know: weight gain, cata­racts, auto immune disorders, infections, elevated blood sugar levels, damage to blood vessels, bleeding, dura puncture, nerve damage, paralysis, stroke and even the possibility of death. (Which has unfortunately occurred multiple times.) We believe you deserve better than these side effects and possibilities of irreversible damage that are proven to be linked to epidural injections.
  • Epidural Injections were never created to treat the CAUSE of your pain or inflammation. Treating your pain or your inflammation does not treat WHY you have your pain or inflammation. It’s the same as having a rock in your shoe causing you pain and inflammation, and instead of removing the rock you inject your foot with anti-inflammatories and take pain medication, which will not cure the cause of the problem and allow your condition to get worse. This is why the epidural injection approach only adds to the problems for you, and also why the FDA will not approve these injections for your spinal, disc, or pain issues!
  • Multiple epidural injections can lead to spinal surgery. When you treat your pain with dangerous and ineffective epidural injections, it can only allow your condition to worsen and ultimately leading to the recommendation of spinal surgery as a last resort effort to alleviate your pain and discomfort. Most people who have received spinal surgery received epidural injections before going under the knife. Unfortunately, the results of epidural injections were likely disingenuous and inef­fective, leading to a worsening of the symptoms and then surgery. There are millions of people who have tried epidural injections to cure their back pain who can tell you that these injections are futile and dangerous.
  • The medical industry has an agenda that they want you to fall in to, leading to drugs, injections, and multiple surgeries over your lifetime – all of which they profit from. Don’t allow your health and your well-being to take a back seat to corpo­rate greed! You can live pain free, without receiving a single epidural injection, and we can show you how.
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By far the best chiropractic clinic around. Dr Lotey and Dr Brar are extremely knowledgeable and passionate. I highly recommend coming here if you only want to deal with the best!
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Parminder Dhillon
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I was in a great deal of pain when I first came to the Disc Centers of America in Bellevue. The decompresion therapy was effective and Dr Leena guided me carefully through the process. Thank you!
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Dan Nygaard
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Great place. I am pain free after 3 years of doing everything without success but with your help I am pain free.
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faranak sabet
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After a car accident, I’ve been struggling with persistent back and neck pain. I wasn’t sure where to turn, but from my very first visit to Disc Centers of America Bellevue, Dr. Kobata made me feel heard and cared for. He takes the time to really understand your situation, explains everything clearly, and never feels rushed. His treatments have made a huge difference — my pain has significantly improved, and I finally feel like I’m on a real path to recovery. What really stood out to me was how supportive and thoughtful he and the whole team are. When I needed a doctor’s note for work, they helped me right away without any hassle. The other doctors and staff here are also incredibly friendly and helpful. Also, Ann at the front desk is always warm and welcoming.
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F Chu (Frankie)
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The staff are very warm and welcoming. Amazing bedside manners especially for the all the patients coming in sometimes really grumpy or sometimes crying out in pain. Both Dr Leena and Dr Harp are extremely competent healers and I’m very happy to have found them for my disc herniations. Despite steroids, the disc compression was the only therapy that helped me as I continue to work a high stress desk job. I keep coming here for maintenance now and feel so much better than just 8 weeks ago. Thank you to the entire team at Disc centers of America, Bellevue 🤗🫶🏻✨
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amrutha maddala
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I’ve been seeing Dr harp since the end of Dec ‘25 doing his spinal decompression therapy and I literally couldn’t imagine where I’d be if I hadn’t taken his advice and did something sooner than later to fix my lower back problems. His staff and him are excellent to work with and I couldn’t be happier with the results. I highly recommend anyone else experiencing chronic back pain to come in and see how he can help. 10/10.
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Chris Heskin
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Doctor Harp is very knowledgeable and has very good techniques of manual adjustments for neck and lower back pains. He treat patients with outmost care and attention. I am struggling with car whiplash from 6 months, started visiting Harp 2 months ago I could see very much improvement and faster recovery. Best place to get heal quickly from chronic pains.
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Sampath Kumar
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I've been visiting Dr. Koki Kobata over the past month for adjustments to fix my headaches and neck pain. He's been incredibly helpful and friendly, both in advice to fix my posture and in his physical adjustments to my neck and back. Front desk associates are also friendly and easy to talk with. Recommend!
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Andrew Stephens
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Disc Centers of America has been fantastic. Dr. Barr and Dr. Lotey are both extremely knowledgeable and take a very thoughtful approach to treatment. Joe and I have both had a great experience working with them. They explain everything clearly and make sure you understand the “why” behind what they’re doing, which makes a big difference in feeling confident about your care. You can tell they truly care about helping people feel better and get back to living life without pain. The staff is friendly, the office runs smoothly, and the whole experience has been very positive. If you’re dealing with back or disc issues and looking for a team that truly cares, I would absolutely recommend Disc Centers of America. We’re really glad we found them.
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Jessica McLellan
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