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 injury after a regional block is a rare occurrence, which can occur anywhere from 1 in 4000 blocks to 1 in 200.000 blocks depending in the type of block and specific risk factors. It can be related to direct needle injury of the nerve or to secondary complications like bleeding or infection.