CERVICAL RADIOFREQUENCY NEUROTOMY

If you have pain in the upper spine vertebra or the neck, chances are that your facet joints are the cause. Doctors widely recommend cervical radiofrequency neurotomy in order to eliminate pain arising in the cervical area of the back.
 

The medial branch nerves carry pain signals to the brain. Through this procedure, pain management specialists attempt to disable the branch nerves using heat. At first, the area is cleaned using an antiseptic solution.
 

Next, numbing medication is injected to minimize pain during the session. A cannula is then inserted that reaches the target nerve and electric current is provided through an electrode to ascertain it is the nerve that needs to be blocked.
 

Heat is then applied using the electrode which disables the nerve. If multiple nerves need to be blocked, the same procedure is repeated for each nerve.