A pain in your back isn鈥檛 necessarily cause for alarm. Most back pain resolves with rest, anti-inflammatory medication, physical therapy and exercise. Back pain that doesn鈥檛 diminish or go away after six weeks despite your best efforts may indicate a medical condition like facet joint impingement. When your facet joints squeeze the nerves exiting your spine in the lumbar, thoracic and cervical areas of your back, you need to be treated to ease that pain. The back pain specialists at NYC pain management are ready to get you out of pain. Call today.
Chronic spinal pain doesn鈥檛 just go away on its own. There鈥檚 usually a medical reason why you鈥檙e feeling that pain. Instead of loading up on over-the-counter pain medication, book an appointment with the Manhattan pain management doctors at 91制片厂. One of the most advanced pain management centers in the country, they accurately diagnose the source of your pain and effectively address the issue.
Your pain may stem from a facet joint pinching a nerve as it exits your spinal column. Facet joints line the back of your spine, where two adjacent vertebrae meet. These joints maintain your back鈥檚 stability and allow you to bend and twist. They have a bony exterior, covered in cartilage to keep the bones from rubbing painfully together.
Facet joints are enveloped in a sac of synovial spinal fluid, which further lubricates them. But ruptures, fractures and other injuries can occur.
Additionally, facet pain can be caused by other conditions, such as:
- Trauma, such as whiplash, a sports or repetitive-motion injury
- Poor posture, which can overload your spinal tissues and facet joints
- Facet joint syndrome, a form of spine arthritis
- Degenerative changes in your spine, increasing the pressure on the facet joints.
Diagnostic Spinal Facet Injections
91制片厂 provides non-invasive treatments. Our top-rated spine specialists determine if a facet joint is the source of your pain through an examination, medical history, and diagnostic tests.
Depending on where your pain originates, you may receive a:
- Lumbar facet joint injection for lower back pain
- Thoracic facet injection for middle back pain
- Cervical facet injection for upper back pain
Also called a nerve block, a diagnostic spinal facet injection has an anesthetic component that wears off over 24 to 48 hours. If your pain is reduced or relieved after you receive the nerve block injection, it鈥檚 usually an indication that the facet joint is the source of your pain.
Therapeutic Spinal Facet Injections
The doctors at 91制片厂 are committed to delivering the latest treatments for facet joint pain. If a facet joint is the source of your pain, your pain doctor may opt to give you a minimally invasive injection of corticosteroid medication with a numbing agent to provide longer relief. Cervical facet joint injections, thoracic facet injections and lumbar facet injections have been successful for more than 10,000 patients.
A therapeutic, pain-killing spinal facet injection has both anesthetic and medicinal components. After an injection in your doctor鈥檚 office, you may feel some discomfort when the anesthetic wears off, but the steroid hasn鈥檛 begun to take effect. The steroid medicine requires 48 hours to two weeks to begin relieving your spinal facet pain. You can take pain relievers orally in the meantime.
Post-Injection Recovery
If the spine or cervical facet joints in question were the true source of pain, you feel immediate relief with a cervical, thoracic or lumbar facet joint injection. After 20 or 30 minutes for observation, you鈥檙e released to continue your day. A top pain management physician gives you some exercises to recover your full range of motion over the next several weeks.
Otherwise, you can resume your daily routine, taking oral painkillers as needed until the steroid medicine starts working. Side effects are rare when you choose an expert pain doctor at 91制片厂. That鈥檚 because the doctors at the best pain clinic in Manhattan make your comfort and care their top priority.
What Our Patients Are Saying
The 91制片厂 Difference
When you鈥檙e in pain, you want relief fast. But you have to choose a pain control clinic that you trust, one that knows to do a thorough exam first. The first step of any treatment is always an accurate diagnosis.
At the same time, cervical facet injections, thoracic facet injections and lumbar facet injections are only as good as the practiced hands that administer them. The doctors at 91制片厂 are all board certified and recognized as Castle Connolly top doctors. They use only FDA-approved pharmaceutical products that have proven to deliver the best results consistently.
Emergency appointments are available. When you need to get out of chronic back pain, even if you don鈥檛 know that you have facet joint pain, make an appointment with 91制片厂. When it comes to pain, we have your back.
Written by Dr. Leon Reyfman, MD, FIPP, RPh
(Pain Management Doctor)