- #100 - 325 Manning Rd NE Calgary, AB, T2E 2P5
- (403) 265-3838
- (403) 351-8882 (FAX)
- #100 - 325 Manning Rd NE Calgary, AB, T2E 2P5
- (403) 265-3838
- (403) 351-8882 (FAX)
Determining what part of the spine is actually generating a pain signal can be challenging. In order to correctly diagnose the source, one of our physicians may do a medial or lateral branch block where they inject local anesthetic (freezing) around the nerves that sense pain for your facet or SI joints.
If you experience substantial and immediate pain relief, the joint is likely your pain source and can be targeted for longer lasting treatments such as injection or nerve ablation (RFA).
On the day of the medial branch block, you must be experiencing some degree of your usual lower spine pain for the procedure to be diagnostic. If you are not in your typical pain the day of your procedure, please inform the Vivo Cura Health Patient Care Coordinator to reschedule the exam (403-265-3838).
The procedure takes approximately 15-30 minutes. You will lie on your stomach or side. The area to be injected will be scrubbed with an iodine or chlorhexidine solution to clean the area (please tell the physician if you are allergic to iodine solution to the skin). Needles will then be passed down to the nerves to be injected. A small amount of x-ray dye be injected to make sure it flows around the nerve and not into a blood vessel. Then, a small amount of freezing will be injected over the nerve.
Most patients return to work the next day.
The effect will last several hours or more. This is strictly a diagnostic block to test if the facet joint(s) are in fact the source of your pain. This is why it is very important for you to fill out your pain diary that you will receive for the next hours to days following your injection. We ask that you fax us your completed pain diary once you have completed it (403-351-8882).
Once the aesthetic medical wears off the pain will likely return and you may have some increased soreness for a day or two.
