{"id":3479,"date":"2025-06-01T16:55:37","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T16:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/lumbar-thoracic-facet-joint-block\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T17:42:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T17:42:05","slug":"lumbar-thoracic-facet-joint-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/lumbar-thoracic-facet-joint-block\/","title":{"rendered":"Lumbar\/Thoracic Facet Joint Block"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why do I have to do this procedure?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>Your doctor suspects that your neck pain may be coming from small joints in your spine called facet joints. These joints help your neck move and stay stable, but over time they can become irritated or worn, causing pain in your neck, shoulders, upper back, or even headaches. <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Lumbar-Stenosis-Before-819x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1740\"\/><\/figure>\n\n<p>To determine whether the pain is actually coming from these joints, we perform a test called facet joint block.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is a facet joint block?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>It is not a treatment, but a diagnostic test.<br\/>A small amount of local anesthetic is injected near the nerves that transmit pain from the facet joints to the brain.<\/p>\n\n<p>If the pain decreases after the injection, it means that these joints are likely the cause of your pain.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"margin-top:2%\"><strong>Before the Procedure: What to Know<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>Inform your pain specialist if:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You have a fever or feel unwell<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You have allergies to medications, local anesthetics, or contrast agents<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You are taking anticoagulant medications (they may need to be suspended)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You are pregnant (the procedure uses X-rays and will be postponed)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How to Prepare<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You can take your usual medications, unless otherwise instructed regarding anticoagulants.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hospitalization is not necessary: it is an outpatient procedure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After the procedure, <strong>you will not be able to drive<\/strong>: arrange for someone to accompany you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Does the Procedure Work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You will lie on your side with your neck well supported.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The skin is disinfected.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The doctor inserts a thin needle near the nerve, using radiological guidance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A small amount of local anesthetic is injected.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The procedure lasts about <strong>15 minutes<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After a short rest, you can go home (with an escort).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Happens Afterwards?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>After the injection, we will ask you to perform movements that normally cause pain (such as turning your neck or working on the computer).<br\/>We will give you a form to fill out, marking your pain level before and after the injection.<br\/>This will help us understand if the treatment has worked.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why are Two Tests Necessary?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>To have a more reliable confirmation.<br\/>The test is repeated on another day: if both times the pain improves, we know the problem comes from the facet joints.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why do I have to do this procedure? Your doctor suspects that your neck pain may be coming from small joints in your spine called facet joints. These joints help your neck move and stay stable, but over time they can become irritated or worn, causing pain in your neck, shoulders, upper back, or even [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-senza-categoria"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Layer-3-Image-1.png",1280,720,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Layer-3-Image-1.png",1280,720,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Layer-3-Image-1.png",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Layer-3-Image-1-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Layer-3-Image-1-300x169.png",300,169,true],"large":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Layer-3-Image-1-1024x576.png",800,450,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Layer-3-Image-1.png",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Layer-3-Image-1.png",1280,720,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/author\/administrator\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/category\/senza-categoria\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Senza categoria<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Why do I have to do this procedure? Your doctor suspects that your neck pain may be coming from small joints in your spine called facet joints. These joints help your neck move and stay stable, but over time they can become irritated or worn, causing pain in your neck, shoulders, upper back, or even&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3479"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4118,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3479\/revisions\/4118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}