Medial branch block.
The diagnostic step before ablation.
A precise anesthetic block of the small sensory nerves carrying pain signals from your facet joints. Used to confirm the facet joints are the pain generator before radiofrequency ablation.
A diagnostic test, not a treatment.
A medial branch block (MBB) delivers a small volume of local anesthetic directly onto the medial branch nerves that supply each facet joint. Unlike a facet injection — which puts steroid into the joint — an MBB blocks the nerve carrying signals away from the joint. The relief is temporary by design, but the information it produces is what determines whether radiofrequency ablation will work.
Fluoroscopy, anesthetic, and a stopwatch.
You lie prone on the fluoroscopy table. Under live X-ray, a thin needle is advanced to the bony landmark where each medial branch crosses the spine. A small dose of local anesthetic is deposited. The injection takes seconds per level. After the procedure, we ask you to track your pain hour by hour for the rest of the day. The pattern of response — strong relief lasting the duration of the anesthetic, then return — is what tells us the facet joints were the source.
Standard of care before radiofrequency ablation.
We require diagnostic medial branch blocks before scheduling RFA. Most insurance carriers also require them. We typically perform two confirmatory blocks on separate days; concordant relief on both predicts RFA success. Patients with chronic axial neck or low-back pain who have failed conservative care are the standard candidates.
No restrictions. Return to normal activity same day.
You will likely feel several hours of relief from the anesthetic itself. There is no steroid — no slow buildup of relief, and no expectation of long-term benefit. The point of the procedure is information. When that information confirms facet pain, we schedule the ablation. If it does not, we look elsewhere.
Stop accepting the downtime.
Diagnostics first. Definitive treatment second. Schedule a consultation at any Triumph location.