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RFA made my lower back pain worse. Anyone else?
I had an RFA (radio frequency ablation) done in my lower back at L3 and L4 on my right side. My local Dr told me that I have degenerative joints. The RAF made everything worse! When I told my local Dr that he gave up on me and said that there is nothing else that can be done. Anyone ever experienced this before?
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Just an update. This is day two after my ablation and I can't tell you how good it is to be able to stand up straight and not head straight for the heating pad as soon as I get up. Even my husband noticed it. He said you didn't come out out of the bedroom walking slowly and bent over. It's worth it!
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2 ReactionsI have had the first 2 rounds of spinal injections. Very little improvement. The third round is the RFA. Im getting nervous reading these comments. Doing PT as well, and my PT suggests me getting it. Now Im not so sure. I have spinal stenosis due to arthritis
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1 ReactionSo happy to hear
@violet112 Please let us know if you get it or not. I have the same problem
Will do. Will be a few weeks until I get them,
@rudy68 My husband has scoliosis, in addition to bone spurs and stenosis. PT, steroids and now even pain meds aren't helping. His surgeon said since he has scoliosis, surgery would be very high risk and would guarantee pain relief. Does that sound right? Did you have extreme pain in your limbs before the ablation?
Hi, I have severe scoliosis in the middle and lower back. No bone spurs and or stenosis though. The RFA worked very well for me. About a year and a half before I got gain. That lasted a little longer and planning on going in again. This last time the pain management doctor suggested it. The surgeon I saw suggested it and the chiropractor said he couldn't do anything for me. (It was the first time I seen this new Chiropractor) At least he was honest.
The surgery would consist of two full bars down my back with screws, 7 hour surgery, 5 days in hospital as long as there is no complications and physical therapy for a few months. They will be fusing my pelvis so I won't be able to bend past my knees. And should be better in about a year. But they don't guarantee no pain after all that. So I decided to hold off for a while. I still have pain but not the extent to do all that. I'll continue with RFA and Tramadol for now. Hope this helps.
@violet112 were those the test injections that they are required to do before the RFA? If you didn't get relief from those, I don't see how you're going to get relief from the RFA. Insurance usually won't pay unless you get a lot of relief from the test injections.
@erdocsmom I never heard the term test shots used before. They were basically cortisone shots and they did provide some relief just not enough.
@erdocsmom I needed to get test shots before the actual procedure to see if the RFA will work in order for the insurance to cover the procedure in which it helped. After that, I had six shots on the left side and six on the right of my spine.