RF ablation for the spine

[my.clevelandclinic.org]

My husband is suffering in pain plus two discs are causing issues. PT and steroid shots at a surgical center are not helping.

The next step is an RV ablation on his spinal nerves.

He spent four months in the states for treatment just to be able to fly home and tolerate the long flight and pain.

Has anybody heard of this RF ablation technique and is there common risks? He already had a nerve block but his leg was jelly and he couldn’t walk temporarily until it wore out.

I don't know a lot about the procedure but I am aware of its existence since I've been dealing with degenerative disc disease in my neck for the past year. Basically, the problem is nerves get compressed when the discs between vertebrae degenerate. This leads to pain in whatever part of the body that nerve serves. In my case, it's pain in my right shoulder that radiates down my right arm to my hand. The pain is debilitating and the loss of strength and dexterity in my hand makes it worse. For me, so far cortisone injections in my neck have been solving the problem, but I know that won't last. Eventually I'll be faced with the choice of spinal surgery in the neck to relieve the compression on the nerve, or an ablation of the nerve to stop the pain. Once that nerve is ablated the pain will be gone forever, but some function may be gone too. It depends. For your husband, it's probably a better option than it would be for me since I could lose function in my dominant hand, and that's obviously not good. But, like I said, I'm not speaking with authority here. I don't know as much about it as I probably should since it affects me. But I suspect the answer is he should probably do the ablation. Not being able to walk is a pretty big deal.

Thank you Carey.

My husband’s problem is degenerative disc 4-5, arthritis and sciatica. He is in his 80s and he can’t lift our newborn grandchild without pain. On the flight home he only packed two light carryon spinner luggages which he needed a porter to check in because it was too painful to pull the wheeled luggage.

Steroid shots only reduced the intensity of the pain and he stops limping but it’s short lived. He may need the ablation. I have to see if it’s available in our country.

I have a compressed disc between S1 and L5 that has caused a curvature up to L1. My doctor wanted me to do this to help with pain. Mostly because there are not a lot of other options. My insurance (Tricare) so no because there was not enough evidence that it would be successful. From my understanding of the procedure, it only offered temporary relief, typically 6 months to a year. Then it might have to be redone. I kinda of put everything off because I was moving in a few months (at the time) and just haven't got back to it after the move. The price of the procedure (from the internet) was about $2500 and can be done in the office for most practices. From reading and my understanding, it seemed to be relatively safe, but there was no guarantee it would help. I may look into this again in a few months because the pain is getting to be too much. If you are really considering it, check with your insurance before making solid plans for it.

In the office? My husband had his steroid injections in a surgical center under some sort of xray and monitored to place the injections.
I didn’t know the ablation isn’t permanent. Thanks

You might have to check with your doctor, but they were planning on doing mine in their office. It might depend on the facilities. This is what they were talking about for me:
[my.clevelandclinic.org]

Susan:

I have had similar issues these last several months as your husband. For me a slow progress was made over 2 months with Steriod injections and alot of P.T., so that is all I need for now.

Ablation is the next logical step the Doctors would recommend, in part to circumvent the use of alot of pain pills.
It's not like a Cardiac Ablation as far as how big a deal it is. They don't heat up the nerve as hot as during Cardiac procedures. A spinal ablation only lasts abut a year, as they dull the nerves, but do not permanently destroy them.
I had one RFA done years ago, and the Dr. forgot to use the local anesthetic, so I had it done feeling the full pain, and it was'nt really that bad. It did sting, but it only lasted for like maybe 10 minutes.

The drawback is that an Ablation only deadens the nerve so you don't feel the pain nearly as much. It does nothing to solve the anatomical problem. Also, if there is something your doing, like using poor posture that aggravates the anatomical issue, your not going to be aware of it, as the nerves are deadened.

If your husband gets the RFA, I would recommend still following up with P.T., and get a 2nd P.T. if the first one didn't really help very much.

The problem was we extended our allowed stay in America and our passport expired because they wouldn’t give him a steroid shot saying Medicare required 6 weeks of PT first before the first shoot and then the second 6 weeks later. He ran out of time. He has an appointment tomorrow here where we now live. I hope it’s easier.

Wait, aren't you both American citizens? Why do you need a passport to stay?

Nobody has mentioned physiotherapy for the condition. I treated over a thousand people with disc problems using the Maitland techniqes. ( I wouldn't recommend any other technique, especially for an elderly person.)

I had an amost 100% success rate.
Sam