If you've experienced chronic back pain, you know how debilitating that can be. “Chronic back pain is common and can negatively impact a person's quality of life, making it difficult to move, sleep and participate in daily activities,” Carmel Armon, MD, one of the authors of a recent report on back pain by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), said in a statement.

Their report is an update of an assessment done in 2007. It focuses on the effectiveness of epidural steroid injections for chronic back pain. It is also designed to inform patients hoping for a quick-fix.

Steroid injections are not miracle cures — something many suffering from back pain are desperately hoping for.

In an epidural steroid injection, a steroid or corticosteroid medication is injected into the epidural space, the space surrounding the sac of cerebrospinal fluid that encloses the fibers of the spinal cord. The injections are supposed to help reduce certain kinds of back pain. They are a beacon of hope for those suffering from back pain, but the issue is, how much do they help?

While they can offer some relief, steroid injections are not miracle cures — something many of those suffering from back pain are desperately hoping for.

“In our review, studies show epidural steroid injections may have limited efficacy. They may modestly reduce pain in some situations for up to three months and reduce disability for some people for up to six months or more,” said Armon, of Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study was a meta-analysis of the results of all the available studies over a 16-year period — a total of 90 studies. It focused on epidural steroid injections used to reduce pain for two common conditions: a pinched nerve, or radiculopathy, and spinal stenosis, a condition in which your spinal cord or nerves become compressed because the space around your spinal cord has become too small.

The results offered evidence that epidural steroid injections might modestly reduce disability for people with spinal stenosis for up to six months or more after the procedure. Twenty-six percent of those receiving the treatment for stenosis reported reduced disability up to three months, compared to people not receiving the treatment, with 12 percent reporting some relief for up to six months or more.

Patients looking for a solution to their back pain should take the findings as a warning against being taken in by promises of being pain-free.

Epidural steroid injections were not found to the reduce pain associated with stenosis.

All the studies in the analysis looked at people with stenosis in their lower backs; it is not clear how effective the treatment is for people with stenosis in their necks.

The review found epidural steroid injections could also modestly reduce the pain of radiculopathy and disability for up to three months post-procedure. Compared to people not receiving the treatment, 24 percent more people receiving the treatment reported reduced pain, and 16 percent more reported reduced disability for up to three months. Eleven percent of those treated indicated they had reduced disability after six months.

Patients searching for a solution to their back pain should take the findings as a warning against being taken in by promises of being pain-free. While injections may ease the pain, they don't erase it.

“Our review affirms the limited effectiveness of epidural steroid injections in the short term for some forms of chronic back pain,” author Pushpa Narayanaswami, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, explained.

“We found no studies looking at whether repeated treatments are effective or examining the effect of treatment on daily living and returning to work,” he said, adding “Future studies should address these gaps.”

The study is published in Neurology.