Chronic Neck Pain Relief: When to Consider Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)

Chronic neck pain can result from changes caused by arthritis, trauma, problems with the discs between your vertebrae, inflammation, or narrowing of your spinal canal. You might feel pain in your neck, radiating down one or both arms, or you may have headaches caused by neck problems. 

The Pain Consultants of Atlanta providers work closely with each patient to understand the cause of pain and offer varied treatment approaches to help you get relief so that you can do what you need to do and enjoy what you want to do. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) isn’t usually the first treatment option for people with chronic neck pain, but it can be an effective solution. 

The pain cycle

Your nerves tell your brain when something hurts, which is useful when you cut yourself or touch something hot. However, if you have a problem that causes pain you can’t correct, the pain becomes a problem. 

For example, spinal stenosis is a relatively common cause of chronic neck pain. This condition occurs when the spinal canal, which runs through the center of the vertebrae, becomes narrower and presses against the nerves of the spinal cord. 

That pressing can cause pain, and the narrowing could be caused by a condition such as arthritis, which doesn’t have a cure. In such a situation, the pain doesn’t serve the same purpose as when you feel pain because you’ve stepped on a piece of glass. You can’t stop arthritis (though some treatments exist that can slow it down) like you can pull your foot away from the glass. 

One possible way to ease your pain is to interrupt the signal from the nerve. The problem may still exist, but you wouldn’t feel the constant pain. 

How RFA works

RFA is a method of damaging a nerve so it can’t send pain signals to your brain. We use an electrode to deliver radiofrequency energy to the nerve. The energy heats the nerve, scarring it and interrupting the pain signal. 

Before RFA

We don’t start with RFA to treat pain. We suggest more conservative treatments, like physical therapy, oral medications, anti-inflammatory injections, or other approaches. 

If those don’t work well, we may suggest a nerve block to find out exactly which nerve is causing your pain and whether disrupting the nerve signal helps you feel better. A nerve block is an anesthetic injection around a nerve. 

The RFA procedure

Your cervical spine contains some crucial nerves, and performing any procedure requires extreme precision. At Pain Consultants of Atlanta, we use state-of-the-art technology to keep you safe during your procedure.

We use a type of imaging called fluoroscopy to position a thin, hollow needle exactly where your pain originates. Then, your doctor places a tiny electrode in the needle and tests to see if you feel tingling, pain, muscle twitching, or other signs that they’ve targeted the nerve as precisely as possible.

At that point in your procedure, your doctor will inject an anesthetic to numb the area being treated so that you’re comfortable. After that, your doctor delivers the radiofrequency energy and performs the procedure.  

You may feel immediate relief, or it may take a week or two to feel the full result of the procedure. Most people experience relief for a long time—6-12 months or even longer.

If you’d like to learn more about RFA to relieve chronic neck pain, schedule an appointment at the most convenient location of Pain Consultants of Atlanta. We’re always happy to discuss your situation and answer your questions.