While many acute causes of low back pain will resolve with conservative treatment like rest and ice or hot packs, far too many patients will move from acute to chronic low back pain and require additional care to find relief. In order to find that relief from low back pain, your doctor must accurately diagnose the source of your pain and that is where a diagnostic block comes in.
Q & A
1. What Is a Diagnostic Block and How Can It Help Me?
During the procedure, a long-acting local anesthetic will be delivered to the medial branch nerves that supply the facet joints in your low back. The purpose of the procedure is to determine whether your low back pain is coming from your facet joints based on whether the anesthetic provides relief from your pain, and how long the relief lasts.
2. When will I begin to feel pain relief?
If you do experience a lasting lessening of your pain, the block may be repeated. If you experience short-term, positive benefits, your doctor may then recommend a second procedure known as a Radiofrequency Ablation. This procedure uses radio waves to destroy the nerve fibers that carry pain signals from your facet joints to your brain and can provide long-lasting relief.
3. What Can I Expect During the Procedure?
Prior to your lumbar medial branch block, an IV will be started so that you can receive medications to relax you and keep you comfortable. During the procedure, your doctor will have you lie on your stomach. The skin of your low back will be cleaned with an antiseptic solution and x-ray guidance will be used to place very small needle along the bony landmarks that mark the location of your medial branch nerves. Your doctor will then inject a small volume of anesthetic along each nerve.
4. What Happens After the Procedure?
You will be moved to a recovery area where you will rest and be monitored for a short time. At discharge, you will need someone to drive you home.
5. What Are the Results?
Although some patients may experience longer lasting relief than others, patients typically find that the results last from a few hours to a few days if their low back pain is facet joint related. In this case, a Radiofrequency Ablation is the next step in your journey to overcoming your low back pain.