What Is Radiofrequency Ablation?
Pain management physicians perform radiofrequency ablation procedures to help relieve patients of their chronic pain when they have not received relief from previous treatments.
Radiofrequency ablation treats chronic pain by using an electric current to heat the nerve and prevent it from sending pain signals to the brain. This procedure can help manage chronic pain occurring in the back. Typically, the nerve that is treated is attached to a spinal joint that has been determined as the cause of back pain, but radiofrequency ablation can also be used to treat pain in the neck, knees, pelvis, hands, and feet.
Am I an Ideal Candidate?
Typically, a candidate will need to have a successful diagnostic procedure such as a nerve block, to ensure the correct source of the pain is being treated. Radiofrequency ablation is most often not the first form of treatment for chronic pain. Before suggesting this procedure, the physician may first recommend physical therapy or other noninvasive treatments.
When other treatments have failed to manage your pain, radiofrequency ablation may be the next best course of action. The physician provides this procedure to allow pain relief for his patients experiencing chronic pain.
How Radiofrequency Ablation Works
The physician will begin by inserting a needle into the area of pain using a fluoroscope x-ray. Through the needle, he will insert the microelectrode and deliver the radiofrequency current to heat the nerve tissue. The heat from the microelectrode burns the nerve to destroy the pain signals.
Several nerves can be treated within one treatment session. The amount of time it takes for the patient to feel pain relief following their procedure may vary depending on the treatment location.
Patients should be able to go home the same day or the next day. A follow-up appointment with the physician may be required so that he can adjust your treatment plan as needed. The procedure results can last anywhere from several months to two years, but the procedure can be repeated as a treatment if it's found effective for the patient.
Diminish Chronic Pain
When other treatments have failed to manage your pain, radiofrequency ablation may be the next best course of action. The physician provides this procedure to allow pain relief for his patients experiencing chronic pain.
Precision Pain Care and Rehabilitation has two convenient locations in Richmond Hill – Queens and New Hyde Park – Long Island. Call the Queens office at (718) 215-1888, or (516) 419-4480 for the Long Island office, to arrange an appointment with our Interventional Pain Management Specialist, Dr. Jeffrey Chacko.
