Radiofrequency Ablation Specialist

What is radiofrequency ablation?

Radiofrequency ablation can help treat persistent pain by using electrical currents to stop selected nerves from working. The electrical energy produced by the radiofrequency device heats the nerve tissue to a specific temperature, destroying the nerves without damaging the surrounding tissues.

Radiofrequency ablation offers hope to patients with chronic pain who aren’t getting relief from other treatments. However, it probably won’t be the first treatment your provider at Capital Pain Consultants suggests. There are numerous less-invasive therapies that most patients find effective.

These treatments include physical therapy, medication, and a range of injectable steroids and anesthetics. However, if you’re not experiencing any benefits from your initial treatments, radiofrequency ablation is a nonsurgical solution that could make a significant difference.

What conditions can radiofrequency ablation treat?

Radiofrequency ablation is suitable for a variety of conditions that commonly cause back and neck pain. These include spinal stenosis (narrowing of your spinal column), arthritis, and facet joint pain in your vertebrae.

Because it works on the nerves, radiofrequency ablation is particularly effective in treating radiculopathy — pinched or damaged nerves that travel through your spine from the spinal cord. Persistent sciatica (lumbar radiculopathy) is a common example of nerve-related back and leg pain that radiofrequency ablation could resolve.

Radiofrequency ablation is also increasingly used to treat joint pain, particularly arthritis in the knees.

What does radiofrequency ablation treatment involve?

Most patients don’t need a general anesthetic before radiofrequency ablation begins. However, your provider at Capital Pain Consultants gives you an intravenous (IV) sedative to help you relax. You’re awake but calm and sleepy throughout the procedure.

Next, your provider injects a local anesthetic to numb your skin. Then they insert a very thin needle into the treatment site using fluoroscopy, a kind of moving X-ray that enables your provider to see exactly where the needle is going.

When they’re satisfied the needle is in precisely the right position, your provider inserts a microelectrode through the needle and asks if you can sense any tingling. Your provider locates the best place to deliver the radiofrequency ablation treatment using your feedback.

How successful is radiofrequency ablation?

Studies of patients after radiofrequency ablation indicate that most had a reduction in pain to some degree. Many of them experienced significant pain relief from radiofrequency ablation.  

The effects of your radiofrequency ablation are likely to last 6-12 months. However, some patients benefit from their treatment for several years.

To find out more about radiofrequency ablation and see if it could relieve your chronic pain, call Capital Pain Consultants today, or book an appointment online.