Back pain can be caused by a variety of things. Some back pain is brought on after instances of vigorous activity whereas other types of back pain may appear for no reason at all. Certain individuals who experience back pain will find that their back pain goes away as quickly as it came while others may have lasting back pain which is debilitating in nature. One type of procedure which can be used for certain instances of back pain is facet joint injections. Below you will find out what facet joint injections are, why you should get facet joint injections and when it is time to go the facet joint injection route.
What Are Facet Joint Injections?
Facet joint injections involve the injection of an anesthesia into your facet joint. If the anesthesia resolves any pain in that area, it can be determined that the facet joint is causing your back problems. However, if the anesthesia does nothing to alleviate the pain, it is more likely than not that the facet joints are not the problem area. If the facet joints are the problem, then more injections are given to treat the area and provide pain relief.
Why Should You Obtain Facet Joint Injections?
Two main reasons exist for having facet joint injections. These reasons include diagnosis and therapy. With regard to the diagnosis portion, one has facet joint injections to see if the facet joints are problematic. Once the facet joints have been pinpointed as the medical problem area, the anesthesia can be given again along with anti-inflammatories to treat the pain.
When Are Facet Joint Injections Appropriate?
Facet joint injections are appropriate when you have had back pain for at least six weeks and you have tried other conservative treatment/pain relief methods which have failed to work. You want to start out slowly with other less invasive methods prior to having facet joint injections performed. If at the time when your other treatment methods have failed you want to pursue facet joint injections you can ask your pain clinic Naples doctor what they think about this treatment method. Most pain management Lee County doctors will discuss this option with you when the time is appropriate.
