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kakat92 · 12-31-2012, 01:50 PM

My boyfriend's mother suffered from a herniated disc last year, and after several months of being in excruciating pain, she received three cortisone injections which seemed to have provided her with a great deal of relief. She received the injections last May and has since reported that her toes were numb. While the doctor explained to her that such an effect was normal, I find it difficult to believe that it would be normal for her to experience for (almost) a year.

The sensation is beginning to stretch to her calf, and the nail on her large toe has suddenly began growing thinner.

I'm curious if anyone else has had these issues after receiving cortisone injections or if anyone has advice on what the next steps should be.

teteri66 · 12-31-2012, 04:05 PM

Welcome to the board.

Are the toes of both feet numb?

The cortisone injections may help with pain but generally do not cause the herniated disc to heal, unless the bulge was quite small to begin with.

I think it is more likely that her toes are becoming progressively more numb due to the continued compression of the nerve. It would be very unusual for the injection to cause numbness. The only situation I can think of that would cause numbness would be if the nerve were badly damaged by the injection itself. Most injections are guided by fluorscopy so the doctor is seeing in real time exactly where he is placing the needle...so that type of damage is rare.

Also if this numbness was caused by the procedure, she would feel numbness almost immediately, at the time of the injection.

Is your boyfriend's mom being treated by a spine surgeon or is it her PCP/family doctor that is treating the disc and ordered the injections? Has she had a MRI?

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