Don't flinch!

[BailOut]

I got my 3rd epidural steroid treatment in a decade this morning in order to help with a compression injury that I sustained to my L5-S1 disc on a failed snowboard jump. That disc is already degenerated and cracked so landing on my butt from a good drop at speed onto a hard packed groomed run was not a happy day. Things got even worse when I managed to sprain my right sacroiliac joint while self-treating some muscle spasms, and that hurt as much as the disc area did.

Lots of stretching, massage therapy (meaning a sports medicine, "try not to cry" style of massage - not a "day at the spa" type) and acupuncture have helped a ton but the disc simply would not stop emitting strong pain signals. This is rather silly as cartilage doesn't heal, meaning the disc will never be any better than it is today. Steroids can help quell those meaningless pain signals, tamp down on any real pain signals, and speed up the healing process. When used in conjunction with massage therapy and acupuncture things tend to have a positive synergistic effect, getting me back to my normal and active life sooner.

Below is a fluoroscopic image taken during the epidural procedure this morning. It was captured at the same time that I was telling myself over and over, "Don't flinch! Don't flinch!".