I was wondering if anyone can tell me about nerve ablation for spine pain, how long it takes, does it require an anaesthetic and what’s the recovery like. I’ve reached a point with my pain where everything else has been tried, but I’ve been unable to sit or stand without severe pain for over a year now. I’ve had the pain since I was a child but it’s non surgical and has got significantly worse. I suffer a combination of disc degeneration, vertebra fusions, muscle spasms coupled with fibromyalgia, hyper mobility syndrome, osteoarthritis and many fall related soft tissue injuries that never really heal. I’m anxious about needing time off and being unable to keep up what little work I can manage, and don’t want to take the plunge with nerve ablation if it doesn’t work or does very little, or leaves you incapacitated for any length of time unless it’s absolutely worth it.
Thank you xx
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Hi not sure if it would have a different reaction if you have hyper mobility but if not then don’t worry about time off. The procedure is unpleasant but depending on how many levels you get done it takes no longer than one hour max. I had 4 levels done last time. You get no anaesthetic as you have to be awake. You get a sedative to help you somewhat. Afterwards you go to recovery and then the daycase ward for a few hours. You need someone to drive you home. Expect to take the day of the procedure off and the day after. I took 2 days off after but you will be fine after one day if you have to get back to work. I felt it really helped me though.
Thanks Emma, that’s really helpful. I’ve had a hideous 12 months with my health and because I’m self employed my business has taken a massive hit with all the time off I’ve had to take. The things I’ve read online have been so mixed about the success of nerve ablation that I was worried that I could potentially be blowing up my business for a procedure that doesn’t have that great of a reputation for success. I’m at a point where I can’t sit or stand without severe pain, and even being in bed doesn’t bring relief anymore. I just wanted to speak to an actual person to see how they found it affected them so I’m grateful for your reply. 2 days off could perhaps be manageable. Thank you xx
Hi yes it is easier than you think, you might even be good enough to work the day after if you work from home. If not from home I would just take one day off afterwards. I have had it done 3 times, ones for the SA joint and twice for my lower back. It definitely helped me a lot afterwards so yes I would go for it if I was you. Good luck with it and let us know how you fared afterwards x
Hi there, I’ve had Radiofrequency Ablation (bilateral) 4 times now for Cervical Radiculopathy at C5/6 & C6/7, bone spurs at C2/3/4 (causing Cervicogenic headaches). The first time prior to surgery (ACDF) at C5/6, didn’t work but the second and third times (I had 3 bilateral levels done at a time) helped with the headaches and to a lesser degree the then disc prolapse atC6/7.
Last year, after the second ACDF at C6/7, an osteophyte developed in the disc space compressing both nerve roots, so I decided to have the procedure again, as the pain in my left shoulder/arm/hand was unrelenting. I had nearly every level done at once bilaterally due to cost (£2581 + £513 MRI + £300 Consultations). I was sedated for the first time and I’m glad, as it was a lot to go through at once, it is a painful procedure but worth it if it gives you some relief. It did not help me as much as the previous procedures did.
Overall, it’s often the last procedure available prior to surgery or post surgery.
Everyone is different and results can vary. If you are in severe pain then you will try anything to get some resolution for your pain.
There usually has to be two ‘test’ procedures first, Median Branch Blocks whereby local anaesthesia & often a steroid are injected around the nerve to see if your pain improves.
I’ve always had to pay for this procedure as the NHS waiting lists were too long.
It’s a lot to consider and you may be able to access this procedure via your pain clinic.
Glad to hear that nerve abation helped. I've been waiting for nearly 2 years for it (after having 4 x facet joint injections which really helped for 3 weeks, then nearly a year later I had 4 x medial nerve injections as a precursor to rhizotomies (RFAs)., for which I am now waiting..... This has all been in the NHS under the local pain management service, as I could no way afford to go private. I am still waiting for my radiofrequency nerve ablations but due to Covid the pain management service was suspended for 6 months, so maybe I might finally get my turn in late May/June, as my GP wrote a pleading letter to them for me as she has just had to put me on morphine slow release as all the other painkillers had ceased to work at all.
I have lost 2 stone in weight over the last 2 years due to the pain and losing muscle due to not hardly walking or exercising and now I am feeling quite exhausted and ill and can't sleep through the night since starting the morphine last week.
Apart from this I am otherwise a perfectly healthy, naturally slim 76 year old with no other medical problems. My old life is now a memory and I can't wait to get some of it back! I just hope that the RFA works, otherwise my consultant spine surgeon wants to operate, but doesn't do NHS keyhole surgery. What I would like to do eventually is to pay for private keyhole surgery but will have to wait for that too, as it costs more than I have to my name.
I sincerely hope your procedures continue to be of help to you and wish you a relatively pain-free future!
Hi there,It’s such a shame that you are in pain and have been waiting such a long time for treatments. Which part of your spine is injured and what surgery would your surgeon like to perform?
I’ve been injured for 17 years (since being 34) due to a road traffic collision that wasn’t my fault. Have you any specific conditions or is it age related osteo arthritis?
It is so unfortunate that pain clinics are so underfunded and many patients have to pay for treatments. Fortunately my two ACDF’s have been on the NHS, as I believe that one disc fusion costs over £13,000. My most recent and most extensive surgery on my lumbar spine was also undertaken by the NHS;
L3/4/5 Laminectomies
L3/4/5 Foraminotomies
L3/4 & L4/5 Discectomies
L3/4/5 Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion
I dread to think how much this would have cost privately.
Hi Mitch48Wow, you have had a lot of surgery - and here is me only daring to go firstly for the RFAs! How brave you have been.
My lumbar pain (mainly L4/5) began gradually about 10 years ago when I noticed (on a long w/e in Pisa, walking all over it but needing to find a wall to sit on every so often) and has just got worse and worse to the extent that, after many GP visits and being fobbed off with "core physio" (what nonsense, I was a fit 5' 4" 9 stone woman who had ski-ed and sailed all my adult life); I finally demanded referral to a spine consultant who sent me for a lumbar MRI. He diagnosed "severe spinal canal stenosis withfacet joint artropathy and degenerative spondylolisthesis of L3/4/5 and pracentral disc hernia". Well, then he referred me for the facet joint injections and the rest you know.
So, although I never was injured as you, sadly, were - I seem to have a completely b*ggered spine now. Despite being on the morphine SR for just over a week now (with some horrible side effects, ie sleep disturbance, headaches and nausea), I am still walking slightly stooped although less than before. I hate being on the morphine and want to be free of opioids altogether.
My consultant orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in backs does not do keyhole procedures but has offered me open surgery - however he is prepared to wait till we see how I get on with the long-awaited RFAs. Sorry to go on a bit, but it is so frustrating as there is nothing else wrong with me!
I was, till reluctantly leaving last October, a medical secretary in the NHS so can understand all the jargon. I can also type very fast, hence this lengthy yarn. I have no other arthritis anywhere, and am so peeved that it is my spine which is damaged somehow and not a knee/hip etc (which can be easily replaced), however a spine cannot be replaced! Once again, wishing you all the best and admiration.
Hi Eileen,You’ve managed well with the lumbar problems. My lumbar surgery - I have a lengthy scar, none of those surgeries could be performed via keyhole. They were for Early Cauda Aquina Syndrome, Spinal Stenosis, Foraminal Stenosis and Stage 2 Spondylolisthesis.
I also have mild Retrolisthesis at C6.
I’m take numerous of the regular meds, Gabapentin, Naproxen, Baclofen, Duloxetine, Amitriptyline, Fentanyl patch 75mcg & Oramorph.
I used to be fit and running was my thing. It’s such a shame when we cannot continue to do the activities we loved. I cannot even walk without pain anymore as I’m waiting for a knee replacement.
I do hope you don’t have to wait long for your treatment and it gives you relief from pain.
Thank you, Jules, for your quick reply. I do admire you and hope you get your knee replacement very soon. You do seem to be on a load of medication, poor you, so it makes my former: 3 times daily paracetamol x 2, dihydrocodeine x 2, ibuprofen x 1; seem quite low, however now I am only on the Zomorph SR every 12 hrs plus occasional paracetamol x 2 for head/neck-ache now and my GP says its OK to have a glass of wine each evening, so I do!
However, it does help us all to sometimes unburden ourselves via a little online chat with a fellow suffer, thank goodness for the internet! Wishing you all the best
Hi Eileen,Thank you. I’ve been in those meds for years with little change. I can only deduce that it depends on our GP or Pain Specialist’s opinions on which drugs to prescribe. The SR is good but the glass of wine may make any side effects worse. I’ve only got to have a sip of wine & I feel very drowsy & sick unfortunately. It certainly does help conversing with other sufferers, we can often learn from them too. Take care Eileen & I wish you all the best too X
I also many times, wished there was such a thing as a spine replacement!!! Because there is so much damage done to my spine that I would need surgery after surgery so I would always be getting ready for surgery & then recuperating from surgery. I only know I can’t live with this much pain day after day after day. Several doctors have told me they don’t what else to do for me so they just let me go as a patient. They always feel badly but not as badly as I do. Help anyone?????
Thanks Mitch, I’m so sorry you’ve had to suffer so much and fund all that treatment yourself. It’s a shame that pain on the NHS isn’t really a priority. This is that last chance I have to get relief, I’ve had the medial branch blocks already which helped but didn’t completely resolve the problem so I’m hesitant simply because it might not make a huge difference and I’ve lost 5 of the last 12 months work to illness already. I can just about keep going but I do nothing outside of work as I have to rest to make sure I can manage (barely) the next day and so on. It definitely helps to know that it has been successful for other people. Thank you x
Hi there, I found that the Ablation worked far better than the MBBlocks, I presumed because they are actually affected by the electrical current and burned to prevent sending pain signals in the first place. I also had up to 12 months relief from some of the pain which is how long the nerves take to recover anyway. I worked for only a few years of my total injured period, mainly in an attempt to return to work in any capacity. Unfortunately that was not the case and have spent the last 14 years or so retired (I was 34 when I was injured).
I do hope you find some relief from this treatment, anything is worth trying if it can take some of the dreadful nerve pain away.
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