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Mapping and Verifying Your Source of Spinal Pain
A medial branch nerve block is an interventional diagnostic procedure used to find out if facet joints are the source of your neck or back pain. The medial branch nerves are small nerve fibers that transmit pain alarms from the facet joints of your spine directly to the brain.
By injecting a tiny drop of local numbing anesthetic next to these small nerves, we temporarily block those pain alarms. This diagnostic checkpoint confirms exactly whether your back pain originates in the facet joints, which helps us design a long-term care plan.
Block Highlights
- ✓ Gold-Standard Diagnostic: Validates nerve fibers transmitting joint inflammation.
- ✓ ✓ Prerequisite for RFA: Confirms candidates for thermal nerve ablation treatments.
- ✓ Outpatient Safety: Performed in minutes with standard local numbing.
How the Nerve Block Procedure is Administered
1. Live X-Ray Localization
The procedure is carried out with real-time fluoroscopic (X-ray) guidance. This allows our board-certified pain specialist to place the needle exactly at the bony landmark where the medial branch nerve rests.
2. Precise Diagnostic Anesthetic Injection
A small volume of rapid-acting local anesthetic is injected directly onto the nerve pathway. No cortisone or steroid is typically used, as the primary goal is diagnostic verification.
3. Post-Block Diagnostic Evaluation
Immediately following the block, you will evaluate and log your pain levels. If your back pain decreases significantly during the block's active hours, it confirms facet joint involvement.