Diagnosing or Treating Your Pain with Facet Injections and Medial Branch Block

Facet injections or medial branch block procedures are often used to diagnose and treat neck and back pain caused by inflammation of one or more of your facet joints.

What are Facet Joints?

Facet joints help your spine move correctly and are located between the vertebrae of your spine.

What are Medial Branch Nerve Blocks?

Medial branch nerves are small nerves that carry pain signals from your facet joints to your brain.

How Do the Facet Joints Cause Pain?

Just like other joints in your body, the facet joints are susceptible to acute injury (sprain or strain) and degenerative arthritis.

Diseases that affect the facet joints or injured joints in the neck (cervical region), the upper back (thoracic region), and especially the lower back (lumbar region) can cause significant pain. Facet joints can cause low back pain, hip and buttock pain, and leg pain. The pain is worse when leaning backwards or twisting your spine. The pain also tends to be worst first thing in the morning and in the evening.

Diagnosis Using Facet Joint Injection or Medial Branch Block

If your doctor thinks your pain is caused by your facet joints, he or she will use a facet injection or medial branch block as a diagnostic test. A small amount of local anesthetic is injected into the joint or over the medial branch nerve to see if it will temporarily relieve the pain. Both procedures reduce facet joint inflammation that causes pain and block pain signals from reaching the brain. If the procedures work to reduce or eliminate the pain, then you know the problem is in your facet joints. If you do not receive any significant relief from this procedure, your doctor may be able to rule out the facet joints as the source of your pain.

Facet injections and medial branch blocks can be done in the office or out-patient surgery center and take between five and fifteen minutes to complete.

Facet Joint Injections or Medial Branch Blocks to Alleviate Pain

Facet joint injections and Medial Branch Blocks involve injecting a small amount of local anesthetic and steroid medication into the facet joint or medial branch nerves of the facet joint that’s causing you pain. The anesthetic will numb the area and you should feel immediate relief of pain for a few hours or days. The steroid medication works to reduce inflammation, which should reduce or eliminate pain for several months.

Monitoring Your Pain Levels

It’s important to monitor and record your pain levels after your procedure, especially if the procedure was used as a diagnostic tool. If you do not receive any significant relief from this procedure, your doctor may be able to rule out the facet joints as the source of your pain. If you have immediate and lasting pain relief from the procedure or only experience temporary relief, in which case your Innovative Pain and Wellness specialist may suggest another option, such as radiofrequency ablation procedure.

Safety of Facet Joint Injections and Medial Branch Blocks

Facet injections and medial branch blocks are safe, effective, and can offer you lasting relief while dramatically reducing discomfort levels. The combination of medication numbs the affected area, reduces inflammation, and stops pain signal transmission.

Our goal at Innovative Pain & Wellness is to restore your quality of life and wellness. We are committed to providing you with all the tools and education you need to make sound decisions about your care and are available to answer all your questions.