6 Modified Independence - Patient can be left alone for an entire day but may need some degree of supervision with new or complex activities. Routine activities can be pursued independently. Helper
You may resume normal activities the day after the procedure, unless otherwise directed by your physician. It may take a week or more for you to feel relief after a facet joint injection. Because of the diagnostic nature of a medial branch block, pain relief may start immediately but last only a few hours. Several weeks may be required to feel the full effect of a radiofrequency ablation procedure.
Nerve blocks numb the nerves touched by the drugs. This relieves pain by interrupting the pain signal sent by the nerves to your brain. Depending on the type of nerve block, your pain may be numbed for a short time or a long time. Nerve blocks for chronic pain may work for 6 to 12 months. They may have to be repeated.