In case you missed this blog, I wanted to give you another look at the difference between two effective, non-surgical treatments for relieving lower back pain, or radiating leg pain from sciatica. One is Epidural Steroid Injections, also known as “ESIs” or “Epidurals.” The other is Facet Joint Injections.
The difference? For Epidural Steroid Injections, a anesthetic/steroid medication is carefully injected into the epidural space in the lower spine – a sleeve-like passage surrounding the spinal sac. Facet Joint Injections target the Facet Joints located between each vertebra. These small joints provide the spine with stability and allow the spine to bend and twist. Facet syndrome or spinal arthritis strikes when one or more of these joints become inflamed or irritated. Arthritis occurs when the cartilage lining the joint surface shrinks and wears thin, causing stress on the bone (bone spurs), inflammation, and enlargement of the joint.
Facet Joint Injections help diagnose and identify which specific Facet Joints are the source of pain. This precise diagnostic tool can quickly relieve your chronic spine pain and inflammation – anywhere from your neck to your lower back.
Both procedures, Epidural Steroid Injections and Facet Joint Injections, provide an effective treatment regimen that affords substantial, sustained pain relief.
What To Expect From A Facet Joint Injection
If you have Facet Joint Injections administered by New Jersey Pain Care Specialists, here’s what you can expect:
- In preparation for this safe, 20-to-30-minute treatment for Facet Joint Syndrome, our pain management expert numbs the skin and tissue above the facet joint with an injection of local anesthetic
- With the aid of a real-time x-ray device called a fluoroscope, the physician guides a needle through the numbed tissue and into the affected facet joint
- After confirming the needle’s placement, the physician injects a soothing mixture of numbing anesthetic and anti-inflammatory steroid medication
- If the pain subsides, it suggests that the facet joint (or joints) injected were the cause of pain.
Facet joint injections have been performed safely and effectively for many years.
Following the procedure, it’s recommended that you take it easy for the rest of the day and return to work and other activities the following day.
It’s possible that you’ll experience a sore back or neck for one-to-two days. The pain relief benefits from Facet Joint Injections typically begin on the second-to-third day. Up to several months of relief can follow as the steroid reduces inflammation and pain, allowing you to return to a healthy and active lifestyle.
Want to learn more and how Facet Joint Injections might help you? Contact our office to chat or to make an appointment.
