Radiofrequency Neurotomy: A Different Kind of Back Pain Treatment

Back pain is one of the most common pain-related complaints heard in doctors’ offices. It is so common that most people can expect to experience back pain at least once in their lives. For chronic pain sufferers though, back pain can be life changing. Enter a treatment known as radiofrequency neurotomy.

Radiofrequency neurotomy is a different kind of back pain treatment. It is nonsurgical, minimally invasive, and doesn’t include the use of prescription medications. It is also not a permanent solution to chronic back pain. Yet it can offer considerable relief for a good length of time.

What It Is and How It Works

Lone Star Pain Medicine is a Weatherford, TX pain medicine clinic that specializes in managing chronic pain and radiofrequency neurotomy is one of the procedures they offer. According to Lone Star doctors, the procedure utilizes heat to temporarily disable targeted nerves so that they do not send pain signals to the brain. As long as the nerves remain disabled, the patient enjoys relief.

To perform the procedure, a doctor inserts one or more radiofrequency needles into the back using a fluoroscope. The fluoroscope is essentially a sophisticated x-ray machine that helps the doctor position the needles in the best possible location. Once inserted, the needles deliver radio waves that generate heat.

After a few minutes of exposure to the radio waves, the targeted nerves are temporarily ‘turned off’. At that point, the patient feels immediate pain relief. How long the relief lasts varies. People respond differently, so that is something each patient needs to discuss with their physician.

Testing Before the Procedure

Radiofrequency neurotomy doesn’t work to relieve every kind of back pain. It is also not appropriate for certain types of diseases or injuries. So before recommending the procedure, a pain medicine doctor will usually want to run a test first.

Various diagnostic techniques are used to determine which nerves are responsible for the patient’s pain. To test the accuracy of the diagnosis, the nerves in question can be injected with anesthesia. If the patient enjoys pain relief from the test procedure, they are probably a good candidate for radiofrequency neurotomy. If the test procedure does not offer pain relief, the chances are that radiofrequency neurotomy will not either.

Beyond Back Pain

Relieving chronic back pain is perhaps the most common application for radiofrequency neurotomy. But there are other applications as well. A doctor might recommend the procedure to treat chronic pain in the neck, shoulder, hip, knee, or buttocks.

The key in every case is precision needle placement. As such, the most qualified doctors for administering radiofrequency neurotomy are pain medicine specialists who have undergone specific training.

Minimally Invasive with Few Side Effects

Radiofrequency neurotomy is considered minimally invasive. Needle insertion is pretty much the extent of it. People who can tolerate needles for injections and blood draws should have no trouble with radiofrequency neurotomy. It is a fairly quick and uncomplicated procedure usually performed on an outpatient basis.

In terms of side effects, the worst most people are looking at is temporary pain at the insertion site. There may be a bit of redness and swelling. Depending on where the procedure is performed, some patients may experience temporary numbness in the general area of the treatment.

Radiofrequency neurotomy is a way to treat certain types of chronic pain without prescription medications or invasive surgeries. Though it is generally recommended only when traditional treatments don’t work, patients are always free to ask about it as an alternative rather than a last resort. Some people prefer it over surgery or long-term prescription meds.