Experiencing neck pain begins as mild discomfort, until it becomes part of your daily life, and changes your habits or forces you to adapt your movements only to avoid pain. Additionally, your cervical spine has an essential role in every moment of your day; it may affect your sleep time, your performance during your work or sports, and even the smallest moments of your day become challenging because you don’t have your full range of movement. At Kanuru Interventional Spine & Pain Institute, we understand how important it is to have your cervical zone healthy; therefore, our staff specializes in cervical spine ablation for pain management.
Persistent Neck Pain and Cervical Spine Ablation
Your neck pain may last longer than expected, becoming a persistent daily sensation. At first, many patients think their neck pain is a result of not sleeping correctly, poor posture, or due to a sudden movement; however, persistent discomfort is not related to muscles, because it is produced by facet joint issues. These are the small connections between your vertebral discs, and when they are worn or swollen, they send constant pain signals to your brain through the spinal nerves.
Due to the pain being “inside” your joint, massages or superficial treatments are not enough to stop the pain signals; that is where cervical spine ablation becomes your option to stop the discomfort without risking your complete range of motion.
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How Does the Cervical Spine Ablation Work?
Cervical spine ablation is a minimally invasive procedure where we use heat technology to numb your cervical spine nerves for prolonged time periods. By using this method, you ensure the following factors:
- Precise treatment: we perform the treatment under real-time X-Ray (fluoroscopy).
- Sustainability: unlike other treatments, cervical spine ablation offers you pain relief for six to eighteen months. According to studies, 80% patients report pain relief for 6 months.
- Safety: It is a minimally invasive procedure; therefore, you will not experience surgical risks or long recovery periods.
- Quick routine resume: Usually, our patients resume their daily routine 24-48 hours after the procedure.
Is a Test Drive Performed Before Cervical Spine Ablation?
A great advantage of cervical spine ablation is that you can experience pain relief through a test drive, which is called “Medial Branch Block.” By performing this test drive, you can experience the treatment before choosing. This test drive is performed in the following way:
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1. We apply a small amount of analgesics near the affected nerves. |
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2. If you experience a significant pain reduction in the following hours, we have found the affected nerve. |
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3. This test helps us determine if the treatment will help you manage pain and how it will reduce symptoms. |
Frequently Asked Questions About Cervical Spine Ablation in Indiana
Performing a cervical spine ablation means more than just a minimally invasive procedure; it will be your method for managing pain during the following months. That’s why we understand that some doubts may come to your mind, and our experts have summarized the answers to help you decide on your treatment.
What Does the Recovery from Cervical Spine Ablation Look Like?
Unlike a surgery, cervical spine ablation doesn’t have a long recovery time. Instead, many of our patients resume their activities after one or two days. At first, you will only feel a slight discomfort, similar to the pain of an injection.
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Will I Lose Feeling in My Neck?
You will not lose feeling in your neck. The nerves we treat (medial branches) only deliver pain signals from the facet joints; therefore, they don’t control the sensitivity on your skin or muscles.
Do They Put You to Sleep for Cervical Ablation
At Kanuru Interventional Spine & Pain Center, we use local anesthesia only to numb your skin and the surrounding areas before the procedure. You will be awake and see the complete procedure.
How Painful is a Cervical Spine Ablation?
Although a cervical spine ablation is a minimally invasive procedure, it is not pain-free, but neither does it represent a traumatic experience. You will experience pain during the first prick for the anesthesia. Once your skin and surrounding areas are numb, the procedure will not produce pain. However, it is normal for you to feel some mild discomfort in your neck after 3 or 5 days from the procedure; therefore, don’t worry about this symptom.
Schedule Your Cervical Spine Ablation in Indiana
Chronic neck pain can limit the way you see the world, making it feel smaller. Don’t keep only managing the pain when you can identify the root cause and turn off the affected nerve. At Kanuru Interventional Spine & Pain Institute, we are here to guide you through every step, from the first diagnosis to the first cervical spine ablation session.
Stop guessing and start healing. Contact us and schedule your consultation with Dr. Kanuru to see if Cervical Spine Ablation is right for you.