Facet Joint/MBB Treatments

Facet joint treatments

Facet joints are pairs of joints down the length of the spine. Like other joints in the body, facet joints can become inflamed and cause pain. When a facet joint is inflamed, injured or arthritic (begins to break down), it can cause a very painful condition called Facet Joint Syndrome. This can happen in the neck or the back.

Facet Joint Injections

An injection into the Facet Joint can be very effective in treating neck or back pain. The patient stays awake for this minimally invasive procedure.

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Your doctor will numb the injection with a local anesthesia and then use an X-Ray to determine the location of the affected joint. The physician will then put medication directly on the joint. Most patients experience little to no discomfort during the procedure. The process usually takes about 10-15 minutes, followed by a brief recovery period to monitor the patient before being discharged home. Physicians recommend resting immediately following the injection, but patients can typically return to normal activities the following day.

Medial Branch Block

A medial branch is a small nerve that feeds out from the facet joints in the spine and carry pain signals to the brain. The idea of a Medial Branch Block is to numb pain in the medial branch nerves. A block is an injection with temporary results. It’s often used to see if other, more permanent treatments would effectively treat a patient’s pain symptoms.

Procedure

A Medial Branch Block will usually take around 30 minutes.

A doctor will numb the injection site and then inject a contrast dye to help visualize the nerves. The doctor will use X-Ray imaging to get to the inflamed nerve and put the medicine directly on the site.

This site is not designed to and does not provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment or services to you or to any other individual. Through this site and links to other sites, AVALA Spine provides general information for educational purposes only. The information provided in this site, or through links to other sites, is not a substitute for medical or professional care. You should not use this information in place of a visit, call consultation or the advice of your physician or other healthcare provider. AVALA Spine is not liable or responsible for any advice, course of treatment, diagnosis or any other information, services or product you obtain through this site.

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