Cervical Facet Blocks Injections in San Antonio, TX

A facet joint injection is typically performed when there is suspicion that facet joints, which connect the vertebrae in the spine and can become irritated or compressed due to aging or trauma, are the source of a person’s back pain.
 
During this diagnostic or therapeutic procedure, a healthcare provider injects local anesthetic and cortisone into the facet joint to both confirm if the joint is indeed the origin of the pain and to potentially provide short-term pain relief ranging from weeks to months at a time, sometimes even longer.
 
When experiencing back problems, they can severely impact a person’s overall well-being, making it challenging to perform daily activities, relax, work, engage in activities, and enjoy life.
 
Damage to the lumbar facet joints is a common cause of chronic lower back pain, often resulting from cartilage deterioration, joint enlargement, and bone spurs, leading to pain and inflammation in the joints.
 
The medial branches, or nerves within the facet joints, transmit pain signals to the spinal cord and brain, acting as warning signals that the joint is irritated.
 
Consequently, a facet joint injection helps identify the precise location of the pain or inflammation source and may provide temporary relief from discomfort.

The duration of pain relief following a cervical facet block can vary significantly from one patient to another. Immediate relief is often felt due to the local anesthetic, which wears off after a few hours. Long-lasting effects may take anywhere from two to seven days to manifest.
 
Patients may experience relief that lasts only a few weeks, while others find their pain-free period extends to several months or even years. If the pain returns, additional injections can be administered. Soreness and bruising at the injection site are not uncommon but typically resolve within a few days. The extent of pain relief varies among individuals, with some achieving full relief, others experiencing no relief, and some falling in between.
 
The injection procedure itself is relatively quick, typically lasting only a few minutes, although most doctors allocate about an hour for the entire process, including pre-injection discussion, positioning, and post-injection observation.

Your follow-up appointment with your pain management specialist Dr. Darius Zagunis M.D. at San Antonio Pain Consultants will involve an assessment of your pain level and a discussion of the next steps in your treatment. If you continue to experience pain, the specialist may recommend additional injections or alternative treatment options. In cases where the facet block procedure effectively relieves the patient’s back pain, it is often considered reasonable to repeat the procedure up to three times a year. However, if the initial facet joint injection does not provide relief, it should not be repeated.
 
Some individuals may require multiple injections to experience relief, but facet blocks are just one component of the comprehensive pain management and recovery plan developed with your pain management specialist.

Cervical facet blocks offer a host of beneficial uses ranging from diagnostic to therapeutic that encourage doctors to recommend the procedure. When the exact source of a patient’s pain in the upper spine or neck is difficult to identify, cervical facet blocks can be an excellent diagnostic tool.
 
In addition to pinpointing the cause of pain, this procedure can provide short to long-term pain relief for some patients, with some electing to include the blocks as part of their ongoing treatment plan.
 
Even temporary pain relief can be hugely beneficial for long-term recovery by helping patients be better equipped to engage in other aspects of their recovery program, such as physical therapies, unburdened by pain.

Cervical facet block injections are available at San Antonio Pain Consultants. For more details, contact us or book an appointment online. We are located at 3903 Wiseman Blvd, Ste 117, San Antonio, TX 78251. We serve patients from Helotes, TX, Alamo Ranch, Leon Valley, TX, Shavano Park, TX, Balcones Heights, TX, Fair Oaks, TX, Fair Oaks Ranch, TX, Castroville, TX.