Radiofrequency neurotomy, more commonly referred to as radio frequency therapy, can provide effective relief from chronic neck and back pain. It involves placing needles near painful nerves while applying heat through radio wave energy.
Radiofrequency (RF) therapy has been found to significantly decrease pain and improve function in cervical and lumbar spine, knee and sacroiliac joints. This systematic review examined 26 RCTs that used this therapy and compared results against control treatments.
What is radiofrequency physical therapy?
Radiofrequency ablation is a minimally-invasive procedure that uses heat generated from radio waves to target painful nerves. This heat destroys their ability to send pain signals directly to your brain, helping to alleviate back and neck discomfort.
Medical professionals perform this treatment by inserting a needle under your skin and using radio waves from a machine to produce heating effects at its target area. The entire procedure only lasts 30 minutes and usually doesn’t cause discomfort for patients.
The procedure works by targeting small nerves attached to joints in your spine that send pain signals directly to the spinal cord. By eliminating these nerves, pain signal transmission ceases and you experience less discomfort – enabling more activities and decreasing prescription medication needs.
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As part of the procedure, you lie on your stomach with a pillow between your legs and allow a doctor to insert small needles into painful areas in your back or neck and use heat to destroy them. They may also administer an anesthetic injection during this procedure to ensure no discomfort arises during the process.
Doctors can assess whether or not their treatment is working by reviewing imaging scans of your spine. Once pain signals have been blocked, you should experience significant relief of back and neck pain; however, this solution will only offer short-term relief; follow up visits will need to continue with both doctors and Energize Physical Therapy in order to effectively manage long-term discomfort.
Researchers conducted 26 randomized controlled trials utilizing radiofrequency energy for treating musculoskeletal pain, using it on painful tendons and muscles in cervical/lumbar spine, knee, sacroiliac joint, shoulder. Results from other treatments such as anesthetic injections, corticosteroid injections, conservative treatments, and physiotherapy were compared with results from radiofrequency treatment; studies concluded that radiofrequency had small but significant impacts on pain reduction and disability reduction.
How does radiofrequency physical therapy work?
Radiofrequency ablation involves inserting needles under your skin over an area of pain and then using small amounts of thermal energy through them to temporarily disconnect nerve signals that lead to pain signals reaching your brain – ultimately helping your body heal itself more effectively. It is commonly used to treat arthritis and joint pain in spine, hips, knees or shoulders; especially long-term chronic conditions which do not respond well to traditional treatments like prescription painkillers and physical therapy.
Before suggesting RFA, your physician will first identify the source of your discomfort by performing diagnostic nerve blocks. In these tests, numbing medication will be injected near nerves which could be contributing to it – if pain decreases after this treatment has taken place then this indicates the nerve as being ideal candidate for RFA treatment.
Your doctor will use a fluoroscopy machine to guide the needles to their exact destination, where they’ll insert an electrode very close to the target nerve before using radiofrequency current to heat its tip and cauterize and destroy it. The entire procedure typically takes around an hour and you should be free to return home shortly afterwards.
Your injection site may experience soreness for one to two days following their insertion, however this should diminish soon after using an ice pack three or four times daily for 20 minutes at each injection site to help alleviate discomfort. This may help relieve some discomfort. To ease this pain, apply an ice pack to the injection sites for 20 minutes three or four times daily for 20 minutes each time before administering injections.
Your doctor will then suggest physical therapy at Energize to assist in returning you to regular activities, including work. Our physiotherapy program will be customized according to your specific needs and rehabilitation goals as well as taking into account any results of RFA treatments that have already taken place.
RFA may provide relief from neck or back pain for long-sufferers who have not found relief with other treatments; especially helpful are patients who have tried RFA without success. More high-quality research needs to be conducted into how well it works on other joints such as knees and sacroiliac (SI) joints.
What are the side effects of radiofrequency physical therapy?
Radiofrequency treatments deliver heat energy that relaxes muscles, improves vascularization to an area and promotes healing. They can be used to alleviate pain caused by muscle spasms, bone spurs, arthritis, degeneration of joints and nerves as well as soft tissue disorders – providing much-needed pain relief without resorting to surgery or other conservative therapies. Radiofrequency offers a viable alternative that offers pain relief without surgery – and may help those unable to find relief through other conservative measures such as physical therapy.
Radiofrequency therapy can be effectively utilized to address neck and back pain by employing radiofrequency ablation (RFA). For this treatment, a radiologist insertions small needles directly into areas where you feel discomfort using an X-ray machine so as to treat only affected nerve tissues. Once these needles have been in position, your therapist will apply radiofrequency energy over the area to reduce pain signals sent back to the brain.
As soon as the pain transmission pathway is interrupted, your chronic neck and back pain should decrease significantly. RFA treatments typically last six months to one year before needing follow up care or additional therapies to keep symptoms at bay.
If you are considering physical therapy as a form of treatment, it’s essential that you meet with a physical therapist first. They will be able to determine whether it will suit your individual needs and guide your care accordingly.
RFA treatments often result in mild-to-moderate discomfort immediately following needle insertion, though these should subside within days. Applying an ice pack over injection sites may help alleviate pain and discomfort further.
RFA treatment is a safe and highly effective method to relieve neck and back pain, making it an ideal solution if other conservative methods (painkillers or physiotherapy) have failed to do the trick. When making any decision concerning RFA procedures it’s wise to first consult your physical therapist so they can assess your unique circumstances and give you expert advice tailored specifically to you.
How long does radiofrequency physical therapy last?
Radiofrequency ablation stands out among pain management techniques as an effective and long-lasting solution, unlike injections or surgery. Because it provides long-term relief from chronic neck and back pain without experiencing relief through traditional approaches such as medication or physical therapy alone, this procedure may often be recommended as the initial solution.
RFA is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure typically carried out using radiofrequency energy to heat nerve tissue and remove pain signals to the brain. Before beginning, your doctor will inject small amount of numbing medication into the targeted area so you don’t experience any discomfort during the procedure. They then insert needle near medial branch nerves under fluoroscopic guidance before using electrodes to deliver radiofrequency energy that heats it and destroys any potential pain signals being transmitted back.
As this treatment is quick and requires no downtime, most patients can return home the same day. Mild soreness at the injection site is to be expected and should subside within several days; to ensure successful outcomes follow your physician’s aftercare instructions for best results.
While radio frequency ablation (RFA) can help alleviate various forms of chronic pain conditions, it has proven particularly successful at treating neck and back discomfort due to compression or inflammation of nerve roots. If you’re struggling with neck or back discomfort and haven’t found relief with other therapies, set up an appointment at Greater Austin Pain Center now to learn if radio frequency ablation might be an ideal treatment option for you.
Our facility proudly provides compassionate and expert care for patients living in Austin, Dripping Springs, San Marcos and Kyle Texas and nearby areas.
Patients suffering from painful arthritis or joint pain in their spine are ideal candidates for RFA, including painful facet joints which have developed osteoarthritis and are causing discomfort. Furthermore, it’s also effective against large joint discomfort in knees, sacroiliac joints, hips and shoulders – to qualify for this procedure it must have been present for at least six months without being alleviated through conservative measures such as medication or physical therapy.
