This discussion thread has some very good information, but unfortunately, when people say to not put too much emphasis on the bad experiences because people that have good experiences do not always post them, it actually makes this more difficult. This topic alone has several good and bad experiences, so it all comes down to how your body responds to treatment. Just like spine surgery itself, for some people the relief is immediate, for others, there is no relief, and actually their pain is worse.

I am a 63 year old male that has has chronic right side pain from muscles (oblique and flank) permanently cramped/spasmed from when I get up until I go to bed. This has been going on for three years this month (July 2023 to July 2026), and I have had several doctors give up and walk away, telling me they have no idea what is wrong, and they cannot help me. These are doctors from the top hospitals in my city (5 hospitals, more than 30 doctors), and to be the subject of the poor treatment by several of these doctors / hospitals has been a surprise for me.

My next steps are looking into RFA treatment for my locked muscles. I was reading about the different surgeries and procedures to treat nerve damage or pain, and deadening the nerve sounds better than actually having surgery when they cut a section of the nerve out.

My treatments so far have included three epidurals, and the one at T11-T12 back in February has caused me to be in more pain than I was before the epidural. Even during the epidural itself, I was yelling while laying on the table it hurt so bad. The doctor said that could have been a good sign that he got the right nerve, but after reading about this pain from the epidural, there is a chance the nerve was nicked, which would have caused the amount of pain I had during the procedure.

So, 5 months post epidural, my pain level is higher (at 7/8 all day long), and my muscles also cramp with the slightest activity. This means I cannot do any type of physical therapy, because the light movements and stretches I've been given cause my right side muscles to lock up. Now I am stuck between getting back in shape and preventing so much pain that causes me to spend more and more time in bed. This is the only relief I get, laying on my back, and after 10 to 15 minutes, the muscles seem to calm down and most of the pain goes away.

Now, here I am reading both experience types for RFA, and the fact my condition has already been made worse by a medical procedure, I am hesitant to try RFA. This is terrifying to see where the healthcare industry is heading in the US, leaving so many people out in the cold with basically no help whatsoever.