Physiatrist begins steroid injection procedures at New Ulm Medical Center

Physiatrist Erik Ekstrom, MD, has begun offering steroid injection procedures as part of his outreach practice at New Ulm Medical Center (NUMC).

Erik Ekstrom, MD, performs a spinal injection at the Institute for Low Back and Neck Care (ILBNC). Ekstrom provides outreach physiatrist services at New Ulm Medical Center and offers steroid injections of the lumbar, facet joint, sacrociliac, knee, shoulder and bursa among others.

Ekstrom, a physician with the Institute for Low Back and Neck Care (ILBNC) in Minneapolis, Minn., started seeing patients at NUMC clinic in early May. He initially offered clinic hours once a month in New Ulm, but the demand quickly grew and he is now onsite twice a month.

Ekstrom has performed the spinal steroid injections at the ILBNC and other outreach facilities for several years and is excited about offering these procedures to patients in the New Ulm area.

"Spine procedures are for people who have failed conservative treatments or who are in so much pain they can't endure the normal treatments," Ekstrom explained. "For most people, physical therapy or chiropractic care can sufficiently treat their pain. But for others, these injections will effectively treat their condition or at least improve them to the point where they can do physical therapy or chiropractic care."

The procedures are all done with either live x-ray or fluoroscopy, Ekstrom said. "That's what makes these treatments safe and effective versus blind - or non-floro - procedures," he said. The majority of these types of procedures take approximately one hour.

Teamwork is an essential component in his specialty of physiatry, explained Ekstrom, and that includes injection procedures. "We don't do these injections in isolation – it's part of whatever their care plan is and almost always involves their primary care provider."

Floro-guided procedures have been around in the metro area for about 15 to 20 years, Ekstrom said, but in outreach areas like New Ulm they are less common. "Floro guidance with three-dimensional pictures gives us an understanding of where we are and where we are going."

The injections can be used not only to treat painful conditions, but also to diagnose them. "With the steroid injections, we check back with the patient in about a week to see if their pain is lessened," Ekstrom said. "For diagnostic procedures, an anesthetic is used and we tell patients to wait about three hours and then engage in an activity that usually causes them pain. Depending on how their body responds following the injection we can use that to diagnose where the problem is."

Side effects from the procedures, if any, are generally short-lived, Ekstrom said. "One of our intentions was not just to provide this as a service to patients where it can be done safely – but also to provide it close to home for residents of New Ulm and the surrounding area," he said.

Ekstrom provides services at NUMC every other Wednesday.

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New Ulm Medical Center
1324 Fifth North Street
New Ulm, MN 56073
507-233-1000
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First published: 11/24/2008
Last updated: 11/24/2008

Reviewed by: Physiatrist Erik Ekstrom, MD