This fluoroscopy-guided, noninvasive procedure involves the injection of cortisone or other medications into one or more of the (cervical, thoracic or lumbar) facet joints of the spine, in order to effectively reduce inflammation and block pain.
Back stresses and injury, as well as arthritis and numerous other conditions can result in facet joint related pain and, given that these joints are responsible for guiding motion and providing stability, we are pleased to provide this effective, long-term solution.
Medial branch nerves are those responsible for feeding pain signals from the facet joints to the brain. During the MBB diagnostic procedure, fluoroscopic imaging and contrasting is employed to safely inject a dose of local anesthetic into these specific nerve endings, in order to determine whether their associated facet joints are indeed responsible for the patient’s pain.
A patient pain score diary is kept over the subsequent 24h, allowing the radiologist to either diagnose or at least eliminate certain sources as the culprit, thereby also determining whether or not the patient qualifies for an RFN.
Radiofrequency Neurotomy is a procedure used to treat facet joint pain caused by degenerative changes or injury. Using fluoroscopic guidance and local anesthetic, the radiologist guides a needle toward nerve endings. The needle is then heated, creating a lesion to interrupt signals to the brain, effectively eliminating the pain.
The RFN procedure is employed to treat facet joint pain associated with degenerative changes and injury.
Conducted under fluoroscopic imaging guidance and following the application of a local anesthetic, a needle is heated at a point along the relevant facet joint nerve fibre that is responsible for the pain. This results in a temporary lesion on the nerve ending, which will interrupt the pain signal and eliminate associated pain in the long term (6-12 months).
An Epidural Steroid Injection is an injection of cortisone around targeted nerves, to reduce inflammation and provide pain relief. The target area is numbed using local anesthetic and, using live x-ray, the needle is guided into the sac around the nerves.
Dye is used to confirm placement before injecting a mixture of cortisone (steroid, anti inflammatory) and Marcaine, a local anesthetic. An ESI is a non-invasive procedure effective in the relief of neck, back, arm and leg pain associated with the spinal nerve inflammation that results from conditions and injuries such as spinal stenosis, disc herniation and spondylolysis.
Following anesthetic dosage and under fluoroscopically guidance, a cortisone/Marcaine mixture is injected into the epidural space around the relevant nerve, in order to treat inflammation and numb pain signals.
Effective in the treatment of arm or leg pain associated with particular nerves, an NRB involves the fluoroscopically guided injection of Marcaine, a local anesthetic and cortisone at particular nerve roots, where they branch from the spine in the area of the foramen.
The injection is administered following numbing by local anaesthetic.
The difference between an NRB and an ESI is essentially the target point, ie: the nerve root as opposed to the epidural space.
An SI Joint injection can be used for either diagnostic purposes (to detect sacroiliac joint dysfunction) or to treat the pain and inflammation associated with sacroiliac joint dysfunction.
After the application of a numbing agent, an injection of either a local anesthetic (in the diagnostic application) or cortisone (in the therapeutic application) is injected directly into the sacroiliac joint at the bottom of the spine where it meets the pelvis.
Administered in the treatment of coccyx pain, this procedure involves the injection of cortisone into the sacrococcygeal junction or caudal epidural space.
The injection is performed following the application of a local anesthetic and under fluoroscopic guidance.