Radio Frequency in the Treatment of Lumbar Facet Joint Arthropathy: Indications and Technical Notes

Abstract

Low back pain is one of the most reported symptoms in adult life. Different etiologies have been evoked. Degenerative disease of the spine is the most common cause. Facet joint arthropathy is the second leading cause of low back pain in degenerative disease. Failure of medical treatment will lead to more invasive therapeutic option. Radio frequency is a well-known therapeutic option for refractory low back pain related to facet arthropathy. We present our results analyzed retrospectively between January 2015 and March 2018. In addition, we describe our workflow, our procedure technique, and our results. According to our findings, 73% improved their VAS pain score by at least 50% over 3 months. Twenty-seven percent failed to improve with this procedure. There was a 20-point improvement on the SF-36 QOL; the overall satisfaction was high. When patients are selected carefully, radio-frequency ablation technique is a safe and efficient procedure. Its complication rate and cost are low. We recommend it as one of the therapeutic tools in the management of low back pain related to facet joint disease.