Back pain is notoriously difficult to treat. Patients looking for an option to long term prescription medication might choose one of several different nerve blocks. One such procedure is known as the medial branch nerve block. A big question among patients is this: can the nerve block make back pain worse?
It’s a reasonable question when you consider the fact that so many patients considering nerve blocks had been suffering from back pain for years. Nothing they have tried works. The last thing they want is to try a nerve block only to feel worse afterward.
Lone Star Pain Medicine in Weatherford, TX is a pain management clinic that offers medial branch nerve block alongside other nerve block therapies. Their doctors say that worsening pain is always a possibility, but it is extremely uncommon with a medial branch nerve block.
More of a Diagnostic Tool
Lone Star explains on their website that the medial branch nerve block is not intended to be a permanent fix for back pain. Rather, it is normally utilized as a diagnostic tool when a pain management doctor suspects facet joint syndrome. The block is used to confirm a facet-related diagnosis rather than some other condition.
Here is the basic principle: if the nerve block immediately relieves the patient’s pain, a facet joint diagnosis is confirmed. Otherwise, the source of the patient’s pain is probably something else.
The nice thing about the medial branch nerve block is that it does provide temporary pain relief. Like other nerve block procedures, it inhibits a nerve’s ability to send pain signals to the brain. As long as that inhibition continues, the patient feels remarkably better. But the benefits of a medial branch nerve block wear off eventually.
How the Procedure Is Performed
The medial branch nerve block utilizes a combination of anesthetic and steroid medication to reduce both pain and inflammation. If a doctor suspects facet joint syndrome, a thorough physical examination will help them identify a preliminary source of pain. A medial branch block can confirm the diagnosis and site.
The doctor will have the patient lie on a treatment table, face down. The skin is numbed by a local anesthetic followed by insertion of a needle into the identified site. Most doctors will use some sort of medical imaging to guide needle placement. Once placed, the doctor injects the medication.
The medication either relieves the patient’s pain or it does not. It is no more complicated than that. Regardless, the needle is removed and the injection site bandaged. The doctor and patient then discuss the next steps for treatment.
If the Treatment Works
Assuming the treatment works, the doctor’s diagnosis and site selection is confirmed. Now doctor and patient and discuss long term options. Pain management clinics tend to offer a range of nerve block therapies along with other types of treatments, such as radiofrequency neurotomy.
If the treatment does not work, it is back to the drawing board so to speak. Doctor and patient must continue working toward finding the source of the patient’s pain. Once that source is revealed, appropriate treatments can be recommended.
Safe and Effective
If you are suffering from back pain that you believe might be related to facet joint syndrome, a medial branch nerve block could be the first step toward feeling better. Note that the procedure has been around for decades. It is considered safe and effective as a diagnostic tool.
Medial branch nerve block procedures help plenty of people. They can make pain worse, but such cases are rare. Most patients only benefit from them.
