Are you among the hundreds of millions of people suffering from chronic back pain? If so, you’ve probably tried every treatment you can think of. But then again, maybe not. Have you asked your doctor about injection therapies like the medial branch nerve block (MBNB)?
An estimated 619 million people experienced low back pain in 2020. Experts expect to see as many as 843 million cases by 2050. In addition, low back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide. It can affect people of any age, though its prevalence tends to increase among those fifty-five and older.
All Sorts of Therapies That Don’t Work
Unfortunately, back pain is not fully understood by modern medicine. There is still a lot we don’t know about it. The result is that we have all sorts of therapies that don’t really work. For example, OTC and prescription pain medications offer only limited relief. Physical therapy may help, but it rarely corrects the problem at hand.
Doctors tend to recommend back surgery for the most severe cases. Unfortunately, surgery comes with its own risks and side effects. It also does not work in every case. Imagine undergoing surgery only to discover that you feel no better for having taken the risk.
Injection therapies, including MBNB, are considered alternatives to be tried only after more conservative treatments fail. But are we doing things backwards? Injection therapies are significantly less risky compared to invasive surgeries and addictive prescription pain meds. Why not try them first?
The Basics of MBNB
Modern pain medicine offers a number of different injection therapies for treating back pain. I will focus mainly on MBNB, as it is one of the more commonly recommended therapies. Its goal is clear: to target medial branch nerves so that they stop sending pain signals to the brain.
Medial branch nerves are closely associated with the spine’s facet joints. These are the small joints that connect the vertebrae all along the spine. They are a common source of chronic pain in both the back and neck.
MBNB relieves pain by targeting medial branch nerves with a combination of anesthetic and corticosteroids. The anesthetic provides temporary and immediate relief. Meanwhile, the corticosteroids reduce inflammation and temporarily block pain signals.
It is important to note that medial branch nerve blocks can be both therapeutic and diagnostic. In a therapeutic scenario, they are designed to provide long term pain relief. In a diagnostic scenario, they are utilized to confirm a patient’s source of pain. If MBNB works as intended, the doctor is comfortable that his diagnosis is correct.
Performed in the Doctor’s Office
Lone Star Pain Medicine in Weatherford, TX includes MBNB on its list of treatments. They explain that the procedure is performed right in the doctor’s office. From start to finish, it only takes about 30 minutes. A patient can resume normal activities the same day.
To perform the procedure, the doctor has the patient lie on an exam table, face down. The skin is cleaned with an antiseptic and then numbed with a topical anesthetic. Next, a needle is inserted into the back and guided to the correct location with imaging equipment. Once properly placed, the doctor injects the medicine before removing the needle and bandaging the wound.
MBNB is considered minimally invasive and generally safe. Its primary site effect is pain at the injection site for a day or two. Fairness dictates acknowledging that MBNB does not work for every patient. But it does work for many. MBNB is a worthwhile alternative to more aggressive treatments that might make patients uncomfortable.
