Are you tired of dealing with back pain that just never goes away? The truth is, chronic back pain can be debilitating and difficult to manage. While many different treatments are available to help control your symptoms, radiofrequency lesioning may provide an effective solution.
Radiofrequency lesioning uses high-frequency electrical signals to deliver targeted heat directly to the source of your pain to create a small ablation or “lesion,” which can reduce discomfort for long-term relief. Keep reading to learn more about how radiofrequency lesions work, what they treat, and whether they are right for you.
Using Radiofrequency Lesioning to Treat Back Pain
What is Radiofrequency Lesioning?
Radiofrequency lesioning (RFL) is an invasive procedure to reduce chronic neck or back pain. During a radiofrequency ablation procedure, a doctor uses fluoroscopy (a live x-ray) to guide an electrode needle into the nerve that carries the pain signals from your spine to your brain. The electrode sends radio frequency energy through the needle, creating a small “lesion” that interrupts these painful nerve signals for long-term relief.
Using RFL for Back Pain
Radiofrequency lesioning is commonly used to treat a variety of chronic pain conditions, but it can be especially effective for treating lower back pain. If you have been struggling with chronic back pain, radiofrequency lesioning may be an effective treatment option. The procedure has been shown to reduce the intensity of pain-related symptoms and provide relief from stiffness and movement limitations in the affected areas. Talk to your doctor about whether radiofrequency lesioning is the right choice for you.
Benefits of Radiofrequency Lesioning
- It can provide long-term relief from back pain
- It is minimally invasive and typically requires only local anesthesia
- The procedure is quick – usually lasting around 30 minutes
- It offers the potential for a substantial reduction in the pain you experience
Is the Procedure Safe and How Does it Work?
Radiofrequency lesioning is generally considered a safe and effective treatment option for chronic back pain. Radiofrequency lesioning creates small nerve tissue lesions that interrupt pain signals from the spine to the brain. When these pain signals are blocked, they cannot reach the brain, and you experience long-term relief from your back pain.
The procedure typically requires only local anesthesia and takes about 30 minutes to complete. During radiofrequency lesioning, a doctor uses fluoroscopy (a live x-ray) to guide an electrode needle into the nerve that carries the pain signals from your spine to your brain. The electrode sends radio frequency energy through the needle, creating a small “lesion” that interrupts these painful nerve signals for long-term relief.
Risks of Radiofrequency Lesioning
Although radiofrequency lesioning is considered a safe and effective treatment option, some risks are still involved. These include bruising or bleeding at the injection site and temporary nerve damage that may cause numbness or tingling in the area around the lesion. There is also a small risk of infection associated with any medical procedure.
What can you expect from treatment?
The effects of radiofrequency lesioning vary from person to person. Some people may experience reduced pain immediately after the procedure, while others might take several days or weeks for full relief. Not all cases of chronic back pain can be cured with radiofrequency lesioning, and results may vary depending on the cause of your discomfort.
Get Treatment for Back Pain Today!
If you or someone you know is dealing with chronic back pain, don’t suffer any longer. Radiofrequency Lesioning may be the answer to finding relief. This minimally-invasive procedure uses radio waves to target and heat specific nerve endings, resulting in long-term numbing of the area.
Patients have reported a decrease in both pain and medication usage after having this procedure. Contact Progressive Pain Management to request an appointment!
Epidural steroid injections (ESI) are a minimally invasive procedure performed to help reduce inflammation and pain caused by nerve root compression. Herniated discs, bone spurs, or spinal stenosis cause nerve compressions. Pain, numbness, or weakness along the nerve are symptoms of nerve compression, referred to as radiculopathy. This pain can last for days or even years if left untreated.
An epidural steroid injection aims to help reduce inflammation along the nerve root. Medication is injected in the fat-filled area between the bone and the protective layer of the spinal nerve, called the epidural space. These injections are intended to reduce pain so that normal activity and a physical therapy program can be resumed.
What is an Epidural Steroid Injection
What is an Epidural Steroid Injection?
There are multiple types of steroid injections, most commonly described according to where they are injected. Steroid injections in the neck are called cervical epidural injections. Injections performed in the middle back are thoracic epidural steroid injections, and injections in the lower back are lumbar epidural injections.
The injections can also be labeled according to the direction of the needle. Most epidural steroid injections are placed between the lamina. This is called an interlaminar epidural steroid injection. The needle is aimed upwards toward the head and goes in between two laminae. Another type of injection is a transforaminal steroid injection. The needle travels along the course of a nerve and enters the spine from a diagonal direction. A caudal approach to ESIs allows the needle to enter directly into the epidural space through the sacral hiatus – a small boney opening directly above the tailbone.
The steroid injection contains a corticosteroid, such as triamcinolone, methyl-prednisolone, or dexamethasone, and an anesthetic numbing agent like lidocaine. They are injected into the area between the vertebra and the protective sac surrounding the spinal cord and nerves.
Why Are They Used?
These steroid injections are used in patients who suffer from pain in the neck, arm, lower back, or have sciatica. This treatment has proven beneficial to those with severe inflammatory conditions. Patients who have the following conditions are candidates for epidural steroid injections:
- Spinal Stenosis – a narrowing of the spinal canal and nerve root canal
- Herniated Disc – the material inside a disc can bulge or rupture through a weak area in the cartilage and come in contact with a spinal nerve.
- Degenerative Disc – breakdown or aging of a spinal disc causing the disc space to collapse or growth of bone spurs.
- Sciatica – compression of nerves that causes pain to travel into the buttocks and down the legs.
In some cases, ESI can be used to determine whether surgery will be successful in patients who have a herniated disc. The injections can ease pain enough so a physical therapy routine can be established.
Risks Involved with Epidural Steroid Injections
ESI procedures have been performed for many years and is considered a safe and effective treatment. Although uncommon, some patients do experience side effects from the medication. Patients may experience a “steroid flush” which is a flushing of the face and chest that can be accompanied by a low-grade fever.
Other side effects may include:
- Trouble sleeping
- Temporary water retention
- Anxiety
Serious complications are very rare, but could include an allergic reaction to the contrast dye, infection, nerve damage, or bleeding. When this procedure is performed with fluoroscopic guidance, the risk is minimized. Generally, this type of procedure and injection is very well tolerated by most patients.
To learn more about epidural steroid injections and how they can help back pain, fill out the form below: