Radiofrequency Ablation

Many people with back and joint pain find conservative treatments and specialized pain management procedures like corticosteroid injections effective. For those who don’t, Consultants in Pain Medicine: Stephanie S. Jones, MD in San Antonio, Texas, offers radiofrequency ablation. This minimally invasive treatment heats the nerves, sending your brain pain messages and effectively deactivating them. Call Dr. Jones to learn more about radiofrequency ablation’s uses and benefits, or request an appointment via the online booking feature today.

What is radiofrequency ablation?

Radiofrequency ablation disrupts pain signals, offering relief to patients with chronic pain conditions. This minimally invasive procedure is particularly effective for treating the nerves that send pain signals to your brain.

Around 70% of patients experience pain relief and improved mobility after radiofrequency ablation. It can also help patients with persistent pain avoid risky surgical procedures.

How does radiofrequency ablation work?

There are several kinds of radiofrequency ablation. Standard treatment creates friction with a radiofrequency generator. This friction creates a low-level electrical current that your provider transmits into the targeted nerves. The electrical current damages the nerve, so it can no longer send pain signals.

Water-cooled radiofrequency genicular ablation works similarly but with the addition of water, which circulates through the radiofrequency ablation device’s probe. Water helps to heat and cool the nerve so a larger area can receive treatment.

The Consultants in Pain Medicine: Stephanie S. Jones, MD team uses genicular radiofrequency ablation to treat chronic knee pain. Water-cooled obturator radiofrequency ablation is the same as genicular ablation but targets hip and lower spinal nerves.

When might I need radiofrequency ablation?

Radiofrequency ablation can help with pain caused by back, neck, hip, and knee disorders, including arthritis, herniated discs, and spinal stenosis. However, it won’t be the first treatment you receive.

Conservative approaches such as physical therapy, manual manipulation, medication, and innovative technologies, like Electro-Equiscope® microcurrent therapy, often reduce or relieve spine and joint pain.

If you don’t improve, your provider can offer several other options, such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections to promote healthy tissue growth and epidural steroid injections to deliver anti-inflammatory medication to injured areas. If your pain persists despite these treatments, the next step is usually radiofrequency ablation.

What will I experience during radiofrequency ablation treatment?

Your provider uses a probe fitted with a thin needle to deliver the radiofrequency-powered electrical current into your nerves. They refer to imaging produced by fluoroscopy (moving X-rays) or ultrasound to see the needle’s path and ensure they target the correct nerves.

Radiofrequency ablation doesn’t require any surgical incisions, so there’s no need for general anesthesia, and you won’t need stitches. It’s also an outpatient procedure so that you can go home afterward.

Call Consultants in Pain Medicine: Stephanie S. Jones, MD today or book an appointment online to learn how radiofrequency ablation could reduce your chronic pain.