Facet joint injections are a common procedure used to treat chronic back and neck pain. The injection involves administering a steroid medication and a local anesthetic to the facet joints of the spine to help relieve pain caused by conditions affecting these joints. After the injection, you may experience immediate pain relief, although this is not always the case. It's not uncommon for patients to experience some pain and bruising at the injection site, which should resolve within a few days.
If the injection into the facet joint is successful, you can expect to experience pain relief for several months. However, all patients react differently and you may experience total pain relief or just a little or no pain at all. As the pain decreases, you can add more strenuous activities to your routine to help strengthen the muscles surrounding your facet joints. It also gives you time to strengthen the supporting tissues around your facet joints through specific exercises and physical therapy.
An observational study conducted to analyze the success rate of facet joint injections found that this procedure provided good short-term relief from pain caused by a pathology affecting these joints. It was concluded that there was moderate evidence of short-term relief and limited evidence of long-term relief from chronic neck and lower back pain when facet joint injections were performed. If you suffer from chronic back or neck pain, you may be a good candidate for facet joint injections. Keep in mind that after we send you home, you may feel some pain at the injection sites, which is perfectly normal.
Take it easy on the day we give you the Facet Joint injections, but you should be able to resume your normal activities the next day. You may also be given an ice pack or a compression bandage to relieve any swelling. A lumbar facet joint block is an injection of local anesthetic (numbing medication) into one or more of the small joints located along each vertebra, on both sides of the spine, in the lower back. If you're thinking about injecting facet joints, here's what you can expect during this quick and easy procedure.