Facet Injections Procedure in Flowood, MS

Facet joint blocks and injections are minimally invasive procedures in which a physician injects local anesthetics and/or medications to numb your facet joints. In order to guide the needle into the facet joint, fluoroscopy, a kind of real-time x-ray, or CT is used.

Facet joints allow the spine to move and provide support and stability as they are located on each side of the vertebra. The facet joints may be inflamed and painful as a result of injury or conditions such as arthritis.

Getting the injection takes no more than a few minutes. The majority of doctors schedule an hour for it, however. After the injection, you will have an observation period and can speak with your doctor.

Facet joint injections do not begin working immediately after the steroid is injected. Patients typically experience pain reduction between two and seven days after the procedure. Because the injection was performed with a local anesthetic, some relief will be felt immediately afterward.

Facet joint injections may not provide complete pain relief. Some people experience full relief, others experience no relief, and still others are somewhere in the middle. There is a chance that you will experience enough relief to improve your mobility, which should assist you in getting better.

Injections of the facet joints might be recommended three times a year, so you can expect a positive result to last about four months. Keep in mind, however, that each patient’s situation is unique. Additionally, keep in mind that some people may require more than one injection to achieve relief.

After a reasonable amount of time has passed since the first facet joint injection, you may need a second injection. You will be advised by your doctor based on how you responded to the first injection. Depending on the success of the injection, your doctor might recommend it once every three months, but not more than that.

An injection into a facet joint relieves pain caused by arthritis or other conditions. You apply it to your neck or back, depending on where your pain is. Each vertebra is connected to each other by a facet joint. Pain and swelling are reduced with numbing medicine and steroid medication.

Treatment of pain and identification of painful joints are possible with facet joint injections. It will be confirmed that a specific facet joint is causing the pain if an injection successfully treats the pain.

Despite its effectiveness, this treatment does not offer permanent pain relief. A repeat injection may be required once or twice over the course of six months. In this time frame, it is not recommended that a patient receive more than three injections.

Patients suffering from pain in the facet joints that have been treated will experience immediate relief from the local anesthetic and may begin experiencing longer-term pain relief from the steroid two to five days after the injection.

The patient may need further diagnostic tests (medial branch nerve injection) or treatment (radiofrequency neurotomy) if the numbing medication does not provide any long-term relief.

In order to accurately diagnose the patient’s pain, further diagnostic tests may be needed if numbing medication does not provide relief.

Patients should keep a pain diary during the first few hours and for the next several days to track their pain relief progress. The treatment physician can use a pain diary to clarify injection results and plan future tests and treatments.

Facet joint injections are available at Jackson Pain Center. We are conveniently located at 1 Layfair Drive, Suite 400 Flowood, MS 39232. Contact us for more information. We serve patients from Flowood MS, Jackson MS, Pearl MS, Richland MS, Ridgeland MS, Langford MS, Brandon MS and surrounding areas.