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. 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. An epidural is a type of anaesthetic where a very thin plastic tube (catheter) is put in your back. Your anaesthetist uses the catheter to give you pain medicines to relieve pain or numb the lower part of your body. The catheter stays in your back and you can have more pain relief if you need it. 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. 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. 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 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. An epidural is an injection of pain-relieving medication into a small space in your spine called the epidural space. It blocks pain signals from traveling through the nerves in that area, numbing part of your body while you stay awake and alert. 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. 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.