The Injections have Finally been scheduled...

Hallelujah! 

"The Facet Injections"
have finally been scheduled!!! 

Wow, it's been a long road.  And it isn't over yet.  However, hopefully, this will take most of of the speed bumps and pot holes out of my way...if you know what I mean.  By the way, they are finally taking the speed bump out of my parking spot in front of my house.  How nice is that!  

What are the Facet Treatments/Injections, you ask? We'll let me explain to the best of my ability.  And since I've had these treatment before, I should know this a little better than I do.  But hey, I do know more NOW than I did back THEN, so that's an improvement, anyway, right? 

OK, first a short explanation of the problem and a little anatomy.  I have scoliosis in my lower back, which causes me moderate to sever lower back, butt, and leg pain on most days.  Some of it is muscular pain and some of it is facet joint pain.  The Facet Treatments, as the name indicates, is to treat the facet joint pain.  Each vertebra in the spine is connected to the one above and below by the facet joints.  Facet joints are found on both sides of the spine, and are about the size of a thumbnail.  They connect to the spine and allow us to flex, and rotate our back.

The facet treatment consists of three procedures.  The first two are are diagnostic procedures.  They are minimally invasive and performed under local anesthesia, where a diagnostic block of the dorsal medial branch nerves (the nerves supplying the facet joints the communicate pain) is performed, in hopes of alleviating pain.  These two procedures are performed two weeks apart.

Four weeks later, if the first two procedures were successful alleviating pain, a radiofrequency denervation is performed.  This procedure uses radiofrequency energy to disrupt nerve function, and therefore the nerve cannot transmit pain from an injured/inflamed facet joint.  


During this procedure, I'll be given IV anesthesia and a local anesthetic to numb the area of my back.  A thin needle will be inserted near the facet joint, guided by flouroscopy again.  To ensure the correct location of the needle, the Dr. will stimulate the nerve, causing twitching.  Once the needle is properly placed, radiofrequency energy will be used to disrupt the nerve.  This can be repeated in multiple locations on the spine.


...Sound like fun? Well, let's all pray that this will make my back feel much better!!!