MEDIAL BRANCH NERVE BLOCK: The Procedure

> How long does the injection take?
The procedure itself requires about 15 minutes. Each nerve must be located (using fluoroscopy) and injected. Then you will be taken to the recovery room. After a few minutes in the recovery room, we will have you try some positions that make your pain worse. This will give us a preliminary indication of the effectiveness of this procedure.

> What is actually injected?
The injection consists of a local anesthetic (like lidocaine or bupivacaine). Steroid is not used in this procedure. Also, we may use some contrast dye.

> Will the injection hurt?
The procedure involves inserting a needle through skin and deeper tissues (like a “tetanus shot”). Therefore, there is some discomfort involved. However, we numb the skin and deeper tissues with a local anesthetic using a very thin needle before locating the medial branch nerves. Some patients also receive intravenous sedation and analgesia, which makes the procedure easy to tolerate.