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Patient education

A searchable library, written by nurses and anesthesia providers.

These cards use complete sentences at about a tenth-grade reading level. Real human nurses and anesthesia providers write and review them. The same text prints on the after-visit sheet with the anesthesia record. The catalog grows with the platform. Centers on the monthly retainer receive new cards at no extra charge for as long as they stay. This is teaching text. It is not a chart, and it is not a substitute for the visit.

Ideas were checked against public teaching (NYSORA spine-injection topics, AAPM&R spinal procedures, MedlinePlus-style aftercare). Those groups do not endorse SurgeryHub. Body-area photos are shown only where we already have them.

Included with the monthly price.

12 topics. Written at about a tenth-grade reading level.

  • Spine

    Epidural steroid injection

    What this is

    • A doctor places steroid medicine in the thin space around the nerves in your spine. That space is called the epidural space.
    • The goal is to lower swelling around an irritated nerve. This may ease back, neck, or leg pain for weeks to months.
    • This visit does not remove a bulging disc or a bone spur. It is not a cure. It may lower pain so you can move and do your exercises.

    After you go home

    • Take it easy for the rest of today.
    • The steroid often takes three to five days to help. Pain can feel a little worse for two or three days before it eases.
    • If the site is sore, use ice for up to twenty minutes at a time. Do not put heat on the site today.
    • Do not soak in a tub, pool, or hot tub today.
    • A responsible adult must drive you home if you received medicine that made you sleepy. You may not drive yourself in that case.
    • Do not drive, drink alcohol, or make important legal or money decisions for the rest of today if you were sleepy from medicine.
    • You may eat your usual food after you go home, unless the nurse tells you otherwise.
    • Take your usual medicines unless we tell you to hold one.

  • Spine

    Facet joint or medial branch injection

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    What this is

    • Numbing medicine is placed at a small spinal joint or at the tiny nerve to that joint.
    • This can lower pain from wear in that joint. It can also help us learn whether a later heat treatment might help you.
    • Relief is often short. This visit does not rebuild the joint.

    After you go home

    • Take it easy for the rest of today.
    • If a steroid was used, it may take a few days to help.
    • Ice the site if it is sore. Do not soak the site today.
    • A responsible adult must drive you home if you received medicine that made you sleepy. You may not drive yourself in that case.
    • Do not drive, drink alcohol, or make important legal or money decisions for the rest of today if you were sleepy from medicine.
    • You may eat your usual food after you go home, unless the nurse tells you otherwise.
    • Take your usual medicines unless we tell you to hold one.

  • Spine and joints

    Radiofrequency ablation

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    What this is

    • A special needle uses heat to quiet a small nerve that carries pain from a joint.
    • If it helps, relief may last months. Nerves can grow back, so pain can return later. This is not a permanent repair of the joint.

    After you go home

    • Rest today. Do not do hard activity for twenty-four hours.
    • Soreness or swelling at the needle site is common.
    • Do not soak the site for two days. A light sponge bath is fine.
    • A responsible adult must drive you home if you received medicine that made you sleepy. You may not drive yourself in that case.
    • Do not drive, drink alcohol, or make important legal or money decisions for the rest of today if you were sleepy from medicine.
    • You may eat your usual food after you go home, unless the nurse tells you otherwise.
    • Take your usual medicines unless we tell you to hold one.

  • Hip and pelvis

    Sacroiliac joint injection

    What this is

    • Medicine is placed in the sacroiliac joint, where the spine meets the pelvis.
    • This may lower buttock or hip-line pain. It can also help show whether that joint is the source of your pain.
    • Relief does not always last. This visit does not fuse the joint.

    After you go home

    • Take it easy for the rest of today. Ice the site if it is sore.
    • Do not soak the site today.
    • A responsible adult must drive you home if you received medicine that made you sleepy. You may not drive yourself in that case.
    • Do not drive, drink alcohol, or make important legal or money decisions for the rest of today if you were sleepy from medicine.
    • You may eat your usual food after you go home, unless the nurse tells you otherwise.
    • Take your usual medicines unless we tell you to hold one.

  • Nerves

    Nerve block

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    What this is

    • Numbing medicine is placed next to a specific nerve. A steroid may be included.
    • This can lower pain in the area that nerve supplies. It is often a test as well as a treatment. It does not always last.

    After you go home

    • Take it easy for the rest of today.
    • The numbing medicine wears off in a few hours. A steroid, if used, may take a few days to help.
    • Ice the site if it is sore. Do not soak the site today.
    • A responsible adult must drive you home if you received medicine that made you sleepy. You may not drive yourself in that case.
    • Do not drive, drink alcohol, or make important legal or money decisions for the rest of today if you were sleepy from medicine.
    • You may eat your usual food after you go home, unless the nurse tells you otherwise.
    • Take your usual medicines unless we tell you to hold one.

  • Head and neck

    Occipital nerve block

    What this is

    • Medicine is placed at nerves at the back of the head.
    • This may help some headaches that start in the neck or the back of the skull. It does not treat every kind of headache.

    After you go home

    • You may have a numb patch on the scalp for a few hours.
    • Ice the site if it is sore. Do not soak the site today.
    • A responsible adult must drive you home if you received medicine that made you sleepy. You may not drive yourself in that case.
    • Do not drive, drink alcohol, or make important legal or money decisions for the rest of today if you were sleepy from medicine.
    • You may eat your usual food after you go home, unless the nurse tells you otherwise.
    • Take your usual medicines unless we tell you to hold one.

  • Knee

    Genicular nerve block

    What this is

    • Medicine is placed at small nerves around the knee.
    • This may help knee pain when a shot inside the joint is not enough. Relief may be short. A later heat treatment is sometimes discussed if this test helps.

    After you go home

    • Rest the knee today. Ice it if it is sore.
    • Do not soak the site today.
    • A responsible adult must drive you home if you received medicine that made you sleepy. You may not drive yourself in that case.
    • Do not drive, drink alcohol, or make important legal or money decisions for the rest of today if you were sleepy from medicine.
    • You may eat your usual food after you go home, unless the nurse tells you otherwise.
    • Take your usual medicines unless we tell you to hold one.

  • Joints

    Joint injection

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    What this is

    • Medicine is placed inside the joint. This may include a steroid to lower swelling and a numbing medicine for short-term comfort.
    • Relief is not guaranteed. Keep doing the movement plan your clinician gives you.

    After you go home

    • Rest the joint today. Ice it if it is sore.
    • Do not soak the site today.
    • The numbing medicine wears off in a few hours. The steroid, if used, may take a few days to help.
    • A responsible adult must drive you home if you received medicine that made you sleepy. You may not drive yourself in that case.
    • Do not drive, drink alcohol, or make important legal or money decisions for the rest of today if you were sleepy from medicine.
    • You may eat your usual food after you go home, unless the nurse tells you otherwise.
    • Take your usual medicines unless we tell you to hold one.

  • Joints

    Bursa injection

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    What this is

    • Medicine is placed in a small fluid sac that cushions a joint. That sac is called a bursa.
    • The goal is to lower swelling in that sac so motion hurts less.

    After you go home

    • Rest the area today. Ice it if it is sore.
    • Do not soak the site today.
    • A responsible adult must drive you home if you received medicine that made you sleepy. You may not drive yourself in that case.
    • Do not drive, drink alcohol, or make important legal or money decisions for the rest of today if you were sleepy from medicine.
    • You may eat your usual food after you go home, unless the nurse tells you otherwise.
    • Take your usual medicines unless we tell you to hold one.

  • Muscle

    Trigger point injection

    What this is

    • A small amount of medicine is placed into a tight band of muscle.
    • The goal is to relax that knot so the muscle can move more easily.

    After you go home

    • The muscle may be sore today. Gentle stretching and ice can help.
    • You may return to light activity today unless we tell you otherwise.
    • A responsible adult must drive you home if you received medicine that made you sleepy. You may not drive yourself in that case.
    • Do not drive, drink alcohol, or make important legal or money decisions for the rest of today if you were sleepy from medicine.
    • You may eat your usual food after you go home, unless the nurse tells you otherwise.
    • Take your usual medicines unless we tell you to hold one.

  • Spine

    Spinal cord stimulator trial

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    What this is

    • Temporary wires are placed near the spine to test whether a stimulator may help your pain.
    • You will receive separate trial instructions. Follow those papers if they differ from this sheet.

    After you go home

    • Keep the site clean and dry. Do not soak or swim during the trial.
    • Call us if you have fever, new weakness, or leaking at the site.
    • A responsible adult must drive you home if you received medicine that made you sleepy. You may not drive yourself in that case.
    • Do not drive, drink alcohol, or make important legal or money decisions for the rest of today if you were sleepy from medicine.
    • You may eat your usual food after you go home, unless the nurse tells you otherwise.
    • Take your usual medicines unless we tell you to hold one.

  • Joints

    Stem cell joint visit

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    What this is

    • This visit uses a product your clinician named. Ask them exactly what will be placed in the joint.
    • This is not a guaranteed cure. Results vary. Keep your follow-up visits.

    After you go home

    • Rest the joint today. Follow the written plan you were given.
    • Do not soak the site today unless your clinician says you may.
    • A responsible adult must drive you home if you received medicine that made you sleepy. You may not drive yourself in that case.
    • Do not drive, drink alcohol, or make important legal or money decisions for the rest of today if you were sleepy from medicine.
    • You may eat your usual food after you go home, unless the nurse tells you otherwise.
    • Take your usual medicines unless we tell you to hold one.