Problem: How to make this correlate:
Oral corticosteroids continue to be prescribed in this setting based on their anti-inflammatory effects and theoretical ability to reduce nerve root edema (swelling around the affected nerve root) and chemical radiculitis, an inflammatory response triggered by disc material contacting neural structures, associated with disc herniation (Sharma et al, 2026). Anti-inflammatory medication, physical therapy, or chiropractic care are offered as initial treatment to all workers with lumbar radiculopathy (Picard S et al, 2026). Current guidelines recommend that oral opioid therapy may be considered for managing acute pain only after non-opioid pain relief options have been proven ineffective* (Ashley Deng et al, 2025). Need Assignment Help?