One of the most common injections I perform is in the lumbar spine. It’s called a transforaminal epidural steroid injection. That’s a long phrase just to describe a injection of steroid, not in the spinal canal, but next to the spinal canal, where the nerves exit that can be tailored very specifically to the pinched nerve in question.
The steroid medication can then trickle into the spinal canal, in ideal cases provide long-term lasting relief. It’s not uncommon to need more than one to get patients back to their optimal state. And frankly, it’s typically a good thing to try and, and select patients with lumbar problems before considering surgical intervention.