Facet Joint Injection

What to know

Facet joints are small paired joints at the back of the spine, often associated with back pain. Facet joints can be injected under CT guidance with a combination of anaesthetic and anti-inflammatory steroid (such as cortisone) to provide relief from pain.

Does any of the following apply to you? If so please contact us as soon as possible.

You suspect or know that you may be pregnant
You have ever experienced a severe reaction to a previous injection of contrast media
You suffer from asthma or have kidney disease
You are a diabetic

Do you require an interpreter?
Is the patient non-english speaking? If so, we can arrange for an interpreter to be present during the appointment. Please let us know as soon as possible so we can make the relevant arrangements.

Please inform us when booking your appointment if you are taking blood thinning medication such as Warfarin or Aspirin. Please continue to take all your other usual medications and if you are diabetic, please adhere to your normal diet.

Please bring any previous x-rays or scans with you on the day of your procedure, if you have them to hand.

You will be asked to lie flat on the CT procedural bed, on either your stomach or back depending on the region of the spine being injected.
The area will be cleaned and injected with local anaesthetic.
Using CT scanning guidance, our specialist radiologist will carefully place a needle into the facet joint. Usually, a combination of local anaesthetic and steroid solution will be injected. This may be uncomfortable for a short time during the injection, until the injection starts to take effect. You may be asked to remain in the clinic for a short period of observation after your injection. It is suggested you minimise physical activity for 24 hours after the injection.

The local anaesthetic should take away pain from the injected joint for several hours. It is important to keep notes or fill in a pain diary following the injection to give to your referring doctor, as it can help confirm if the joint injected is the cause of your pain. The anaesthetic will wear off and your pain may return as before, or worse than previously due to some bruising from the needle. It may take several days for the steroid to begin to take effect. The degree and duration of relief is quite variable. Many patients experience complete pain relief for months or even years. Some, unfortunately, may experience little or no benefit.

Slight soreness or bruising at the site of injection.
Side effects of the steroid injection may include flushing, insomnia and increased blood sugar levels in diabetic patients.
Infection is an extremely rare but serious complication which may occur.
Very rarely, serious side effects causing permanent neurological damage can occur.