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. Why It Is Done. Nerve blocks are used to diagnose the causes of pain. They also are used to treat chronic pain when drugs or other treatments cause bad side effects or do not control pain. How Well It Works. Nerve blocks often relieve pain. Nerve blocks work well for some types of cancer pain, such as pain from cancer in organs such as the pancreas. 1. Risks