Time to reconsider steroid injections in the spine?

Bogduk, Nikolai

doi:10.5694/mja13.11077

Topics

To the Editor: In their review, Harris and Buchbinder call for a ban on all spinal injections of steroids.1 These injections are not a singular procedure; they differ by indications, technique, and the evidence that serves each.

Newcastle Bone and Joint Institute, Newcastle, NSW.

Correspondence: nbogduk@bigpond.net.au

Competing interests:

I am a Board member of the International Spine Intervention Society; while I am an exponent of the procedures in question, I derive no income from them.

1. Harris IA, Buchbinder R. Time to reconsider steroid injections in the spine? Med J Aust 2013; 199: 237. <MJA full text>
2. Bogduk N. A narrative review of intra-articular corticosteroid injections for low back pain. Pain Med 2005; 6: 287-296.
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8. Faculty of Pain Medicine, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. PM03: Lumbar epidural administration of corticosteroids. 2002; Aug. http://www.anzca.edu.au/fpm/resources/professional-documents/documents/pm3 (accessed Nov 2013).
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