Millions of people around the world live with back pain. There are plenty of ways to treat it, but no one treatment works in every single case. People are different. So are the causes of their back pain. When that cause is a condition known as facet joint syndrome, radiofrequency neurotomy offers long term pain relief via a minimally invasive procedure.
Radiofrequency neurotomy is also known as radiofrequency ablation (RFA). It is among the services offered by the pain medicine doctors at LoneStarPain.com in Weatherford, TX. Lone Star says on their website that they only recommend the procedure to facet syndrome patients. Other medical professionals have been known to recommend it for other conditions.
Arthritis in the Back
Lone Star describes facet joint syndrome as essentially arthritis in the back. It is an arthritic condition that affects the facet joints – the joints at which two bones in the spine meet. They can become arthritic like any other joint in the human body.
The big problem with facet joint syndrome is the same problem common to all forms of degenerative arthritis: there is no cure. As joints wear out, they begin to fail. The cushioning cartilage between them wears away and bone grinds on bone.
Facet joint syndrome is most likely to occur in the lower back or the neck area. But it can occur at any joint in the spine. When pain medication and physical therapy are not enough to relieve pain, a doctor might recommend radiofrequency neurotomy.
Block Those Pain Signals
Pain medications are designed to temporarily mask pain. Physical therapy is designed to strengthen the spine and its supporting muscles so that affected joints perform better. But neither treatment actually eliminates pain altogether. Enter radiofrequency neurotomy.
According to Lone Star, radiofrequency neurotomy blocks pain signals so they never make it to the brain. It does so by way of heat generated by radio waves. The heat temporarily damages nerve tissue so that pain signals cannot get through.
A Minimally Invasive Procedure
Although its name might sound scary, radiofrequency neurotomy is a rather simple and minimally invasive procedure. Once a doctor identifies the particular joint causing the patient’s pain, he inserts a needle and directs it to the appropriate nerve using imaging equipment.
Radio waves are then transmitted through the needle where they generate heat. The heat does its thing and the pain immediately subsides. Note that some patients experience residual pain at the injection site for a couple of days following the procedure.
Radiofrequency neurotomy is recommended by doctors when they and their patients are looking to achieve the following goals:
- Pain reduction
- Improved function
- Avoiding or delaying surgery
- Reducing pain medication consumption
While the procedure is most commonly suggested to treat facet joint syndrome, there are other conditions for which it could be useful. They include cancer pain, peripheral nerve pain, trigeminal neuralgia, and tumors.
It Is Worth Considering
If you are among the millions of people living with back pain, radiofrequency neurotomy might be the treatment you have been looking for. Discuss with your doctor whether your pain is the result of facet joint syndrome.
Radiofrequency neurotomy has helped countless numbers of facet joint patients achieve long lasting pain relief. It is a safe, minimally invasive procedure performed in an outpatient setting. What have you got to lose, except your back pain?
If it turns out that you are not a good candidate for radiofrequency ablation, don’t give up hope. A pain medicine doctor likely has other treatments you can choose instead of pain medication and invasive surgery.
