Nerve surgery

@bonniethompson1234 Hi Bonnie. This may be what your friend is talking about, an ablation. Doctors do ablations to stop nerves from sending pain signals, and commonly ablations are done in heart patients to lessen electrical signals that cause irregular heart beats. Here is a description of using radio waves to do an ablation on spinal nerves called a radio frequency neurotomy.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/radiofrequency-neurotomy/about/pac-20394931

Thank you for this information. Much appreciated.

I have had numerous rhyzotomys (7+) over the course of 9 years following 360 ALIF/PLIF lumbar and then SI joint fusions to relieve nerve pain from spinal instability issues. Sometimes it works, other times it's not as effective. It really depends on whether the doctor treats the correct offending nerves. This highly depends on the patient accurately describing their pain and limitations. Also remember that this can be temporary as nerves can regenerate and the problem will return. I understand that some nerves that do not impact major muscle function and can be permanently removed and I am exploring this as a more permanent fix. I have also tried prolotherapy, acupuncture, epidurals, nerve blocks, and numerous PT sessions, etc without significant longterm relief. My goal now is to focus on reducing the number of rhyzotomys I need annually to have a "normal " existence. After a rhyzotomy I feel well enough for a normal outing like going to the zoo or boating. Before the rhyzotomy, I can barely make it through a Costco's grocery trip or get out of bed without assistance, stairs are almost impossible. If you have problems on both sides, know that they only do one side at a time. So you may feel like a car that only got one flat tire fixed and the fender is still falling off the other side that still running on a flat. Hope that makes sense.

Thank you, K. After so many years of searching for anything, I now see there are things that remain unpublished. Your history is very interesting. I hope you receive a more permanent fix. And that all of us find something that works for us.

I had a RFA of the L5 facet joints that did NOT help the nerve pain in my back or thighs.

Sorry you went through it to not get the help you needed.

Keep trying, I truly believe it's a game of hit and miss. Do your own research to identify your options, Doctors tend to try "common" solutions