Yeah, Right, Whatever

Tomorrow afternoon, I will have lumbar radiofrequency neurotomy performed on 3 levels of my lumbar spine. What is that? you ask. That's what I wondered, too.

A radiofrequency neurotomy is a type of injection procedure in which a heat lesion is created on certain nerves with the goal of interrupting the pain signals to the brain, thus eliminating pain.

A medial branch neurotomy affects the nerves carrying pain from the facet joints, and a lateral branch neurotomy affects nerves that carry pain from the sacroiliac joints. These medial or lateral branch nerves do not control any muscles or sensation in the arms or legs so there is no danger of negatively affecting those areas. The medial branch nerves do control small muscles in the neck and mid or low back, but loss of these nerves has not proved harmful.

Are you glad you asked?

Here is a really cool animation of the procedure.

And here's what my week will be like, according to the paperwork:

On the day after the procedure, the patient may cautiously return to regular activities. The neck or back will usually be very sore during the next one to four days. This pain is usually caused by muscle spasms and irritability while the targeted nerves are dying from the heat lesion over the next seven to fourteen days. The physician may give medicine to the patient to treat the expected soreness, and the physician may also instruct the patient on how to apply ice (or heat or warm towels) to the sore area to alleviate discomfort. Patients usually will want to rest for several days before returning to normal activities.

If pain relief is going to occur, full pain relief will typically not be experienced until about two to three weeks after the procedure when the nerves have completely died. On occasion, the back or neck may feel odd or slightly weak for several weeks after the procedure.

The nerves will eventually grow back (regenerate), but the patient’s pain may or may not recur. If the pain does recur, a second neurotomy can be performed, and similar results will usually be achieved. Some patients will not have a recurrence of pain.

Needless to say, posting may be pretty light the next few days. Or I might feel perfectly fine. You never know.