Blocking Pain and Boosting Your Joint Health and Mobility with Facet Joint and Medial Branch Injections

Senior couple smiling together after a successful facet joint block procedure.

At The Hemlock Pain Center, board-certified anesthesiologists and pain management specialists, Drs. Stephen N. Tafor and Sandeep Datta often treat pain that originates from the facet joints. Our teams in Macon, Milledgeville, Warner Robins, and Dublin, Georgia, support pain relief with highly effective, safe, and minimally invasive techniques, such as a facet joint or medial branch nerve block.

What are facet joints?

The facet joints connect the vertebra or bones of the spinal column. Like other joints, they facilitate movement and support healthy function. When these joints are disordered due to degenerative conditions such as facet arthropathy (a type of arthritis), you may feel pain and stiffness in the spine near the joint and pain that radiates to other areas of the body. This pain may worsen with certain movements, such as bending down or twisting your body.

What is a facet joint block?

This is a type of nerve block that can help with your pain. Nerve blocks largely work by injecting a local anesthetic and anti-inflammatory medication close to the target nerve or group of nerves. These blocks largely prevent the process of the nerve cells transmitting the signals from the damaged or affected area to the brain. So, they alter how your body processes pain. Facet joint blocks are injected directly into or around the affected joints, and more than one injection may be given during your treatment to ease inflammation and pain sensitivity associated with several facet joints.

And how does a medial branch block work?

The medial branch refers to the small nerves that connect to the facet joints in the spine. By injecting a steroid or a mixture of steroid and anesthetic into the area of the medial branch nerve, the block prevents the nerve from sending pain signals. It also blocks and decreases the permeability of targeted nerve fibers to receive blood. These changes alleviate pain transmission to the brain. All of the nerves associated with the painful facet joint are treated at the same time.

How do you perform these injections?

As with other nerve blocks, we ensure comfort by numbing the affected areas first. We also use state-of-the-art diagnostic technologies to guide the precise location of the joints/nerves. Only after we have accurately determined exactly where to inject do we then apply the medication (sometimes mixed with anesthetic) via a thin and sterile needle.

Elderly woman with hand on back, experiencing pain prior to facet joint block treatment
Senior couple smiling brightly after a successful facet joint block procedure.

What is the success rate for these injections?

Researchers have found that up to 92% of patients experience pain relief, typically between one and four weeks post-injection. For some, the painful symptoms may not return. For others, we may need to get them into a routine of repeat injections. These injections support sustained pain relief, aid in mobility, and help ease symptoms and function. They are extremely beneficial for enhancing physical therapy and specific exercises. When you are living with tremendous pain, progress on physical therapy can come to a grinding halt.

By blocking the pain, we can boost your health – for a lifetime of comfort, normal function, and the capacity to engage in sports and other activities you love. To speak with a member of The Hemlock Pain Center patient care coordination team, contact us at Macon (478) 475-2385, Warner Robins (478) 997-6444, Dublin (478) 800-3745, or Milledgeville, GA (478) 280-4670 today.