What are low back blocks or injections for pain?
You have back pain and your doctor has reminded a medial branch block. You might be wondering what the procedure is and how it differs from other types of injection procedures, such as a Block injection in the back.
So what is a lumbar medial branch block? It is an injection in the low back which diagnoses the cause of your low back pain specifically. Low back pain can have many causes. All of them present as low back pain. Trying to find out the cause of the low back pain in order to determine exactly what type of treatment you need can be tricky. Common causes of low back pain can be anything from chronic muscle pain or herniated discs. Sciatica, or arthritis of the bones in the low back can cause low back pain. For patients with low back pain, a medial branch block or injection is sometimes recommended to pinpoint the cause.
This is where a medial branch block can be helpful. A medial branch block is a procedure in which the small nerves which innervate the facet joints. The facet joints are the areas in the spine where the bones stack on top of each other. We put a small amount of an anesthetic agent, such as like lidocaine, on the area where the medial branch nerves run. This serves to block the nerves that cause facet mediated pain. In other words, a Block injection targets pain associated with these nerves.
It's important to note that this is a diagnostic or test injection, meaning it is not necessarily the treatment for arthritis related low back pain. Instead, it's actually a tool that can show whether these nerves are the cause of your low back pain. For many patients, a block or injection can provide valuable information for diagnosis.
Your feedback after the procedure is essential. Whether or not you feel relief from back pain lets the doctor know where the pain in the low back is coming from. Knowing what the cause of your pain is is half the battle. Oftentimes, the block injection is the key procedure in solving the mystery of your symptoms.
We hope we've answered some of your questions regarding lumbar medial branch blocks for low back pain. If you have low back pain and feel that you might be a candidate for this type of treatment call, call Pain Medicine Group today. Schedule an evaluation with a board-certified pain medicine physician today at 877-456-PAIN.
