Epidural Steroid Injection Procedure In The Lumbar Spine, Posterior View

Description

Posterior lumbar anatomy is presented with the spinous processes aligned in the midline and the laminae and facet (zygapophyseal) joints flanking them laterally. A spinal needle advances from the skin and subcutaneous tissues through the paraspinal muscles toward the interlaminar window, tracking to the epidural space just deep to the ligamentum flavum and posterior to the dural sac. The sequence emphasizes a lateralized approach, keeping the needle tip ipsilateral to the target level while remaining posterior to the vertebral canal contents. Depth and trajectory change frame to frame. Clinically, this is the common setup for an interlaminar lumbar epidural steroid injection used for radicular pain from disc herniation or lumbar spinal stenosis, where medication needs to spread cranio-caudally within the epidural space around irritated nerve roots. Animation clarifies what static diagrams often obscure: the layered resistance points at supraspinous and interspinous ligaments, the distinctive passage through ligamentum flavum, and the narrow safety margin separating the epidural compartment from inadvertent dural puncture with potential post-dural puncture headache. It also helps differentiate an epidural target from a facet joint or intrathecal placement by spatial relationship rather than label. Use this clip in pain medicine and anesthesiology teaching on neuraxial techniques, in PM&R modules on lumbar radiculopathy interventions, or in patient-facing counseling materials that explain why fluoroscopy-guided needle trajectory matters in a posterior approach. It also fits procedural atlases and CME content that compare interlaminar versus transforaminal epidural injections by needle path and target compartment. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.