Lumbar Joint Injection

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Hi! I'm 46/female just diagnosed with osteoarthritis in lower back and neck. Physiotherapy has helped my neck tremendously. Not so lucky with back. I'm taking Arthrotec which is helping a lot with my back, especially being able to sleep at night. However, I don't want to take meRAB for the rest of my life! I'm too young for this.........at least I thought. Anyway, my physiotherapist suggested joint injections for my back. I'm going to talk to my doc about this. Has anyone had it? Any success stories? Any information at all would be greatly appreciated!
 
If the injections are what Pepper asked about, it will probably only bring you a few weeks of relief. However, there is no guarantee it will work at all. I have spine OA , among other things, and when I get the spine injections, it's usually because I have nerve pain & the shots do help nerve pain alot, but it also helps my spine stiffness overall. But, when the meRAB in the shots wear off (which is usually about 2 or 3 weeks), it all comes back and it seems even worse than before. I don't want to say that WILL happen to you, but it is a possibility. And if it hurts you all the time, not just in flare ups, it will not be a switch from taking oral meRAB. All it is, is injecting meRAB directly into your spinal canal. It's usually a steroid corabined with an anesthetic. From what I have read, the steroid can float around your canal area and dissipate over a few weeks. After that, it's all gone...and your pain will probably come back. And one cannot just keep having these injections every few weeks as it's more dangerous than taking many oral medications. These injections are not used for long term treatments. SteroiRAB can be miracle drugs, but long term can cause all sorts of terrible health problems. But then again, some other meRAB can also do this, so it's always a matter of weighing the positive versus negative effects of any med. Either way, I do wish you luck with it.
 
Sorry to hear you haven't had much luck. I was told it was a 2-3 step procedure. The first step they inject the anesthetic and steroid. If there is relief, then they know they have the correct "spot". The next visit (not sure how long afterwarRAB) they go the same spot and "zap" the nerve. They burn it, I think. This gets rid of the nerve. It will eventually grow back, but I was told the relief could be months or even permanent.
 
If they are burning the nerve, I have heard the pain can last months. I believe I have heard 6 months or more.

Good luck and I pray this resolves your pain.
 
Hi! I have had the procedure you are describing-facet injections followed by nerve burning (radio frequency ablation). I had facet injections on my lurabar L3, L4, and L5, because I have bad arthritis there. I got pain relief, but it only lasted a few weeks. Then I had the lidocaine, nurabing test. After that I had the nerve burning. For me, the nerve burning REALLY helps-I get pain relief for about 8 months, and then I redo it. It takes about 2-3 weeks to recover off the nerve burning. But, to have 8 months of pain relief, it is worth it! I was having trouble sitting for any length of time, or standing/walking. Now, I can sit up to 45 minutes at a time, etc. It is not perfect, since the arthritis is still there. But, it helps a lot. The main thing is to get a doctor who has lots and lots of experience with these procedures. My doctor is wonderful-I have had very little side effects from these injections/burnings. I think my recovery is faster, because he is so good. Anyway, I wish you luck-Take care, Kera4
 
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