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Facet Nerve Block

For  diagnostic reason how long does the Facet Nerve Block normally last in stopping the pain?
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Avatar universal
Hi,
I think it might be referral to radio frequency..for a medical use...
Radio frequency ablation is a procedure that uses radio frequency waves to ablate(cut) the nerve..nerves with this procedure grow back..they are not destroyed...(as I have been told I am not doctor)
The procedure is performed by a spinal anaesthsiologist and I have had it done to  facet joint nerves in my lower back as I have facet joint arthritis..the procedure has given me relief for 3years but now the pain is returning so will have to see about doing it again if possible..it, for me, was a God blessing..
I am no medical person just a person who has had rf? Done..
Bless u!
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Avatar universal
what is an rf?
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Avatar universal
Diagnostic nerve blockade is generally performed with anesthetic only (no added steroid). As such, diagnostic nerve blocks usually give just hours of relief.

Therapeutic nerve blocks, on the other hand, almost invariably consist of a combination of a short-acting anesthetic and a long-acting steroid. The duration of effect depends on the location of the block (relative to the site of neuropathic pain generation), and the volume of medication injected (among other physiological factors involved in neutralizing the medication, and clearing it from the injection site).  
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Avatar universal
I have had several in the cervical and lumbar spine.  Actually, it just depends if the specific pain generator is found.  I have had some where they did not work and I have had some that did.  Normally, when they were not effective it was because that particular level was not the pain generator.  In any case, I can get anywhere from two weeks to three months from them.  But what my spinal pain management doctor told me was...even if I get 1 hour of relief, it tells him that is the pain generator.  I am about ready to go in on Monday and I THINK he will be doing facet blocks at the C2/C3.  I am just not sure yet but based on the cervicogenic headaches and/or occipital neuralgia; the pain is referring as it reflects on the dermatome charts.  But that doesn't mean anything necessarily LOL!  I had the C3/C4 referring pain up the back of my head for a LONG time prior to a fusion and actually a selective nerve root injection helped more than anything.  Anyway, if the facet block works should he decide to do one, I am going to talk to him more in depth about an RF.  I had an RF done in the lumbar and it worked wonders.  That was done this past January and I STILL have relief.  I hope it works for you too because when they do, it is great!
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Avatar universal
Hi,  I understand the blocks can last from a few weeks to a couple of months.  You may wish to do a search for more specific info. Personally the first I had worked for several weeks and then the second I had left me not able to put pressure on my right leg for about 3 days and once that went away I was back to my "normal" self.  This was NOT a normal reaction to the blocks and I wouldn't expect it to happen in your case because they did discover a more indepth problem located in my hip joint later on in during an MRI. Good Luck! I do hope it works for you.
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Avatar universal
I have never had one, so I do not know. I answered so you would not feel ignored.

In the future I might be trying a stellite ganglion (sp) sympathetic nerve block, and am wondering the same thing.
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