After your SI Joint RFA procedure, you will be monitored for approximately 30 minutes. The clinic will give you appropriate instructions to follow for care after the procedure.
We caution against driving after an RFA procedure.
Post-procedure soreness may be experienced. Typically this soreness is caused by muscle and nerve irritation and can last 2–4 weeks. The full benefits of pain relief take usually 6–12 weeks.
Nerves will regenerate after the RFA procedure. However the time it takes for them to regenerate varies from 8–24 months. Your typical pain may or may not return after this nerve regeneration. If your pain does return another RFA can be done.
Do I have SI Joint Pain?
If you have pain for greater than 2 months in the lower back, buttock, and/or leg area you may have SI joint pain.
Tests such as X-rays or MRIs do not always show if the SI joint is the reason for your pain. The best way to test if you have this pain is to block the pain signal from the lateral nerve.
A SI joint RFA disrupts the function of the lateral nerve. The lateral nerve is then no longer able to transmit pain signals from the affected SI joint.
RFA Procedure
A thin needle is inserted near the SI joint under fluoroscopy (a type of X-ray). Fluoroscopy is used to position the needle.
The area will be numbed with an anesthetic medication with the correct needle position. The Physician will use radiofrequency energy to disrupt the lateral nerve signal.
What is a SI Joint RFA?
This outpatient procedure is used to help with diagnosing and/or treating pain from the low back to the buttock, and sometimes into the leg.
What are SI Joints?
The SI joint is what attaches the spine to the hip. It is made up of the Sacrum (part of the spine) and the Ilium (part of the hip).
There are many ligaments that help to strengthen the SI joint.
Lateral nerves extend from the Sacrum and communicate with the SI joint. Therefore the nerves tell the brain when the SI joint has been injured.