Living with pain can be frustrating as the pain throws up roadblocks that prevent you from seeking long-term solutions. Rather than masking the pain with medications or resorting to risky interventional techniques like surgery, we’ve had great success through radiofrequency nerve ablation, which quiets the nerves directly responsible for your pain.
At Ohio Pain Clinic, under the experienced direction of Dr. Amol Soin, our team of pain management specialists treats a wide range of conditions that lead to acute and chronic pain. We pride ourselves on using the very best techniques to bring you a much-needed reprieve from your pain, with radiofrequency ablation leading the charge.
Here’s a look at how radiofrequency nerve ablation can disable your nerves and alleviate your pain.
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an effective pain management technique that goes to the source of your pain — the nerves that emit the pain signal in the first place. With RFA, we use an electric current created by a radio wave to heat up the nerve(s) and create an adhesion, which prevents your nerves from sending pain signals to your brain.
We typically use RFA to address the following:
Any time we’re able to pinpoint the nerve(s) causing your pain, odds are that we can treat the problem with RFA to disable the nerve.
If you opt for RFA, we perform the minimally invasive procedure on an outpatient basis, typically using only local anesthesia. After we get you comfortable on the treatment table, we deliver an anesthetic. Once you’re ready, we use X-ray guidance (fluoroscopy) to direct a hollow needle into the area where your problematic nerve is located.
Once it’s in place, we deliver the radiofrequency current through the needle to create the adhesion. Rest assured, you shouldn’t feel a thing during the procedure thanks to the anesthetic.
After your RFA procedure, you’re free to return home. You should plan on taking it easy for a few days or weeks afterward as your body adjusts, and you may feel some pain during this time. That said, some patients experience immediate relief, while it takes up to 14 days for others, so patience is key after your RFA procedure as you wait for your results.
To give you an idea about how effective an RFA can be, 70-80% of patients experience relief. This relief typically lasts anywhere from 6-12 months, but many patients report pain relief for two years or more after the procedure.
Nerves are unpredictable, so it’s impossible to say how long your results will last. As your nerve regenerates itself after the RFA procedure, you may begin to experience pain again, at which point we can once again disrupt the pain signaling through RFA.
If you’re struggling with chronic pain, it may be time to explore how minimally invasive radiofrequency ablation may hold the key to your relief. To get started, contact one of our offices in Centerville or Beavercreek, Ohio, to set up a consultation. Use our online booking feature, give us a call, or send Dr. Soin and the team a message here on our website.
