During a lumbar epidural steroid injection procedure, your provider injects a steroid into the epidural space around your spinal cord. The epidural space surrounds your spinal cord like a sleeve and contains fat, spinal nerves, blood vessels and connective tissue. In anatomy, the epidural space is the potential space between the dura mater and vertebrae (spine). [1][2] The anatomy term epidural space has its origin in the Ancient Greek language; ἐπί, on, upon + dura mater also known as epidural cavity , extradural space or peridural space. An epidural is a nerve blocker and an effective method of pain relief. Learn more about the benefits and risks of an epidural and alternative options available. Epidural anesthesia, also known as EA, EPi, spinal anesthesia, or epidural, is a form of regional anesthesia involving the injection of a local anesthetic into the epidural space. An epidural is an injection near your spinal cord. It’s a way to give you anesthesia for surgery or labor pain. They can also deliver steroids for back pain. Epidural anesthesia is regional anesthesia that blocks pain in a particular region of the body. The goal of an epidural is to provide analgesia, or pain relief, rather than anesthesia, which leads to a total lack of feeling. Epidurals block the nerve impulses from the lower spinal segments. Doctors use epidural injections to relieve pain during and after surgery, as well as to manage chronic pain that often stems from a pinched nerve. This procedure isn’t right for every case. But. An epidural is a catheter (thin, bendy tube) that’s inserted between the vertebrae in your back that delivers — you guessed it — pain-relieving medication. The medication is a local anesthetic, which can numb the nerves in your lower body. So, yes, epidurals can relieve pain. Epidural administration involves the placement of a catheter into the epidural space, which may remain in place for the duration of the treatment. The technique of intentional epidural administration of medication was first described in 1921 by the Spanish Aragonese military surgeon Fidel Pagés. An epidural is an injection in your back to stop you feeling pain in part of your body, commonly given for pain relief in childbirth and in some types of surgery.