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.
Facts
FAQs
If pain eases after a facet joint injection, does that prove the facet joint was the cause?
Not always, because single diagnostic blocks have high false-positive rates.
Not always. A diagnostic injection can help identify the source of spinal pain, but its value is limited by high false-positive rates with single blocks given without a control. One review reports false-positive rates for single blocks of 17 to 47 percent in the lumbar spine, 27 to 63 percent in the cervical spine and 55 to 58 percent in the thoracic spine.
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundation
2. Facet joint injection (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facet_joint_injection, lead section
Facet joint injections are used to alleviate symptoms of Facet syndrome.
Lead
Facet joint injections came into use from 1963, when Hirsch injected a hypertonic solution of saline into facet joints.
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