When unexplained spinal pain is interfering with your work or personal life, you may benefit from facet joint injections. The board-certified team of pain management specialists at Boston PainCare offer facet joint injections both as a diagnostic tool and treatment option for spine pain. Enjoy the convenience of in-office injections and quick relief of pain due to facet joint syndrome and other conditions. Find out if facet joint injections are right for you by calling our office today.
Facet joints, which are alongside each of your vertebrae, allow movement in your spine and also give it stability. When these joints begin to wear down due to age, injury, or disease, the joints and surrounding nerves grow inflamed, swollen, and painful, a condition known as facet joint syndrome.
Facet joint injections are a treatment option that delivers anesthetic medications to the affected joint to reduce swelling and temporarily numb the nerves in the area of the joint.
These injections can also be a diagnostic tool to pinpoint areas that are causing pain in your spine. Your Boston PainCare physician can inject the medicine into your facet joint and evaluate whether it relieves any of your pain. If you experience total relief, it can indicate the facet joint is the primary source of your pain.
A facet joint injection is a simple procedure that you receive in a comfortable office environment. Your Boston PainCare specialist uses fluoroscopy, or live X-ray, assistance during the procedure to ensure the needle goes into the right place.
Prior to the injection, your provider can apply a numbing cream to keep you comfortable. They gently guide a small needle into the facet joint and inject a small amount of contrast dye to make sure the needle is in the correct joint before delivering a combination of anesthetic and anti-inflammatory medicines into the joint.
Immediately after the procedure, you can rest in a recovery area for up to 30 minutes. Your provider may also have you make certain movements that typically would trigger your pain.
If you usually take pain medicine, your provider may ask you to not take any immediately after your injection to determine how well the procedure works on your pain, and if the facet joint isn’t the cause, you may not get any relief.
You may feel numb or weak in the areas of the injection for several hours, though that will resolve on its own without additional treatment. You can go home to rest. It’s important that you avoid strenuous activities for the rest of the day.
Learn more about the benefits of facet joint injections by calling our office today.
