Lumbar Facet Blocks Performed for Low Back Pain

Low Back Pain Surgery NYCArthritis injection therapies provide a safe and non-invasive alternative to surgery. A facet joint injection is a precise diagnostic tool that also provides excellent therapeutic results. This relives both pain and inflammation coming from the involved joint ending your lower back pain. With a proper and prompt diagnosis, the treatment of the affected area will typically allow most patients to resume normal activities and return to work in a relatively short period of time.

Each set of vertebrae in the spine from the neck to the tailbone has facet joints located in between them that allow each vertebra to move against the vertebra just above and just below them. Inflammation and swelling of tissue in and around the facet joint space, such as in the lower back, is treated successfully by performing facet injections, especially on patients with arthritic or thickened facet joints found in X-rays.

These patients typically have difficulty with movement, such as bending or twisting, which often aggravates facet joint pain in the neck or back typically in the lower back. Additionally, many patients with arthritis or inflammation in the facet joints may respond well to facet injections although they appear to have normal looking facet joints on their X-rays.