Bilateral Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injections for Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Exclusion Criteria

• •Radiologic spinal stenosis without symptoms of spinal stenosis
• •Symptoms of neurogenic claudication without at least moderate degree of radiologic spinal stenosis
• •Patients with specific lumbo-sacral radicular symptoms or radiculopathy (radicular pain secondary to a single nerve root compression/inflammation; usually follows a specific dermatome in lower extremities; unilateral radiculopathy either from disc herniation or lateral recess stenosis)
• •Patients with vascular claudication (pain in the legs secondary to arterial insufficiency)
• •Previous lumbo-sacral surgery
• •Any condition that does not allow the patient to stand and/or walk for any length of time (e.g., COPD, severe lung disease, etc.)
• •Patients with symptomatic hip joint pathology concurrent with spinal stenosis
• •A coexisting musculoskeletal condition that would negate functional improvement from the injection (e.g., severe Parkinson disease, hemiparesis, etc.)
• •Malignancy or infection to the spine
• •Another pain generating condition that would mask the improvement provided by the injection
• •Patients who had lumbar epidural steroid injections within the past six months
• •Significant psychologic diagnosis and/or dementia
• •Patients receiving workman's compensation benefit
• •Patients unable to give consent on their own, or who are not able to understand and answer the forms and questionnaires, or their answers will not be reliable.