Dr Ahmed SalamaCould your back or neck pain be coming from the facet joints?
The facet joints are small joints at the back of the spine. When they are the source of pain, a facet joint (medial branch) block can help confirm it and show whether a longer-lasting treatment is likely to help.
Facet joint pain is typically an ache in the back or neck, often worse when leaning back, twisting or standing for long periods, and stiff in the morning. Scans cannot reliably show whether a facet joint is painful, so a diagnostic block is used.
In line with NICE guidance, medial branch blocks are used mainly as a test before radiofrequency denervation.