Facet injections are what?
05-10-2023
Facet injections, as described by Roger Kasendorf, DO, are a minimally invasive outpatient treatment in which painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs are injected directly into the facet joints in your spine. These are the tiny joints that allow the backs of your vertebrae to move against one another, enhancing the flexibility of your neck and spine. Age, arthritis, or a serious injury are all factors that might make them painful. Months of respite may be had from these injections.
These injections are typically performed with fluoroscopic guidance, which uses x-rays to verify that the needle is inserted precisely where you are experiencing discomfort. To first reduce the nociceptive signals in and around the joint, a local anesthetic is given. The therapeutic injection that follows usually combines a long-acting steroid (such as triamcinolone) with a local anesthetic (bupivacaine). The anesthetic aids in numbing the pain, while the steroid helps minimize irritation and inflammation.
The local anesthetic's numbing effect kicks in right away and should persist for a few hours. Although the steroid will take a little longer to function, it should start to reduce your discomfort within 2-3 days of using it. Although some bruising beneath the skin is likely, it should go away with time.
Most people only need one facet injection, but to maintain the pain reduction and flexibility advantages, they are frequently repeated over the course of a few years. To achieve the best long-term results, some people might need a few more injections, but it depends on the patient and how long they have experienced pain.
Facet injections may occasionally fail to relieve a patient's pain, but this is uncommon and is more likely to happen in patients who have chronic pain. To identify which facet joints are generating discomfort in these situations, additional diagnostic techniques should be employed.
This is due to the intricate components that make up the degenerating facet joints, which are situated close to nerves, ligaments, and other tissues that may potentially be injured and cause pain. Facet injections are a great way to diagnose which joints are the source of the pain, but other procedures, such as radiofrequency neurotomy, are more effective at curing the underlying problem that is causing the pain.
A facet rhizotomy might be suggested after one or more facet injections if it is determined that they were successful in improving the patient's condition. Injections can be used in conjunction with other forms of treatment. Instead of moving forward with a more permanent operation, some patients who have good relief with initial facet injections and are happy with their progress opt to continue with routine injections.
