Facet Joint Injection

Facet joint injections are used to alleviate the symptoms of facet syndrome, serving both a diagnostic and a therapeutic purpose: pain relief following anesthetization of the joint indicates that the facet joint is the source of the pain, while an accompanying anti-inflammatory medication provides longer-lasting symptom relief. During the outpatient procedure the patient lies face down while the area is sterilized and numbed with a local anesthetic, and a physician uses fluoroscopy or CT/X-ray guidance to direct a needle to the facet joint, confirms placement with contrast dye, and slowly injects an anesthetic and anti-inflammatory combination; the process typically takes ten to twenty minutes, though complex cases can take longer.