Diagnosis & Treatment
Diagnosis & Treatment
Facet joint problems are usually treated with a combination of conservative methods, including pain medication, exercise and physical therapy, posture correction, activity modification, and steroid injections. If your pain doesn’t improve, you may be helped by an outpatient procedure called Radiofrequency Neurotomy, also called Radiofrequency Ablation or lesioning. This approach completes the continuum of care for back pain sufferers who want a minimally invasive alternative to surgery.[1]
How is facet pain diagnosed?
The most definitive diagnosis for determining your pain can be made by a medial branch block.[2] This involves injecting a numbing medicine into or very near the nerves that supply the facet joint. If there is a significant decrease in pain (80% or more), it confirms that the joint is causing the pain.
Benefits of radiofrequency ablation include:
- Pain relief for up to 2 years[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
- Significant and longer lasting pain relief compared to steroid injections[7]
- Low complication and morbidity rates[3][6][7][8][10]
- Appreciable pain relief compared to surgery: Nearly half of back pain sufferers are not helped by surgery[9]
- Greater range of motion[3][6][10]
- Lower use of analgesics[3][6]
- Improved quality of life[3]
- Short recovery time
Radiofrequency Ablation Procedure Animation
Physician Locator
Use the online physician locator to find a radiofrequency ablation specialist in your area.
