Radiofrequency Rhizotomy

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I am thinking about having radiofrequency rhizotomy in my lurabar facets. (for sure L4-5 and L5-S1). I had this in my neck at C5-C7 and then ended up having a fusion later. It helped a little, (the RF)but I also had severe disk disease and this rhizotomy stuff is for arthritis. My lurabar pain is mostly from arthritis. There is some stenosis, but not enough for surgery. I have a limp and it really is limiting my life now with standing and walking. I HAVE to get back to work as an elem. substitute SOON. The spinal guy recommenRAB PT (forget it...been there..done that from April till July. Unfortunately she focused more on the SI Joint than the facet joints. I never did much core strengenthing because of the pain. I am kind of in a time crunch because A) I have to get back to work and B) my insurance will pay 100% of ANY procedure until Jan. 1 because I met my OUT OF POCKET MAXIMUM for this yr. My PT was for the SI Joint and not my lurabar facets. (OY). Now I feel like I wasted 3 months because the whole time I was in too much pain to do the exercises. But I also dont have the luxury of wasting my time with PT right now. I have to get better sooner rather than later.You know how it goes.....Aug. goes into Sept. Sept. goes in Oct..... Plus I need time to recuperate from a rhizotomy. I dont see my physiatrist till next Friday and I know him. He will agree with the spinal guy and set me up for that diagnostic nerve block first I laready had facet injections that only worked for 5 days AND epidurals) and then I guess the rhizotomy. For those of you that had a RF RHIZOTOMY OR ABLATION did it help you stand and walk better????????????? God, I would be so happy if I got improvement. Celebrex helps, somewhat...but not enough. I end up having to take Vicodin by the end of the day because its such a killer.
THANKS!
 
I had the ablation done for my SI joints and it worked miracles for me. I could stand and walk much better and without pain. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, provided the pain generator was pinpointed first by a test injection of local anesthetic.

I hope you get relief from it as I did.

Carol
 
Carol.
Quick question:
A lot of Drs. do not believe the SI Joint can cause BIG problems. My PT is positive its my SI joint as well as the facet joints that are a problem. Can you tell me exactly how you found out the SI joints were where you needed the ablation? I had pelvic Xrays and no one thinks the SI joint is the culprit. But I think they arent looking real hard either. They are so fixated on the facet joints being the big issue. And also they keep telling me the SI joint doesnt move much so it couldnt be that. oy whatever
 
Hi! Your situation sounRAB similar to mine-I have arthritis in the facet joints and SI joints too. I have had quite a few lurabar rhizotomies over the last years, and they DO help with pain control. I just had lurabar L3, L4 and L5 done at the end of June. For the SI joints I get injections when they get bad. I just finished a round of PT-I feel I have had so much PT:) It is one of those places I just can't leave......ha ha. It really is time consuming though, and I know what you mean about it eating up your time. I would recommend the RFA if the lidocaine test indicates that it will help. It takes about 2-3 weeks to recover, but I can usuallly do most things after 4-5 days. It is just that for the few weeks after ward I have to keep taking breaks and icing every few hours. You sound like me, I take Voltaren in the morning, and then if I can''t make it through the afternoon, I will take Ultram if I have to. I wish you the best-let us know what you decide. Take care, Kera4
 
I was having pain in the fronts on my legs and low back pain as well. My PM dr. is the one who first suspected the SI joint. He injected the joint using Lidocaine and sent me on my way, telling me to come back in 2-3 hours after doing some walking. I was amazed that my pain was gone completely for the lst 2 hours. So we set up the RFA the next week.

The SI joint can cause a variety of problems including pain when sitting, walking and standing. RFA can be the answer for some long term relief and I hope it helps you.

Carol
 
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