Facet Injections

If you are experiencing pain in your neck, low back, hip, buttock or groin area, you may have had a facet joint injury. The pain specialists at Kentucky Pain Institute and Spurlock Chiropractic Centre in Morehead, Kentucky are experts in diagnosing the source of your pain and treating your pain appropriately. Too often, people with back pain are convinced that they have two choices: putting up with pain or taking pain pills that keep them from feeling like themselves. These are false choices. You do not need to put up with pain – you need an accurate diagnosis of exactly what is causing this pain. And pain medications are not the cure. They treat your pain with a mind-numbing approach rather than treating the condition that is the source of your pain.

Patients who come to Kentucky Pain Institute benefit from the many years of experience of our medical team. We have built a great reputation for our professionalism and our compassion for the pain that our patients have been experiencing. We begin with conversation about what you are going through and we are compassionately concerned with your disabling pain. Our diagnostic tools are state-of-the-art and, best of all, you can receive this care close to home. With our practice in Morehead, you will receive the best care available without having to travel miles to unfamiliar facilities.

Our doctors may suggest a facet injection to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of your pain. Facet joints are found on both sides of the back of the spine and they can become irritated or inflamed. A spine injury can often be the cause of a facet joint injury and the source of your pain.

Facet injections involve numbing medication and corticosteroid, an anti-inflammatory medication. You will receive this injection at our office. We will inject a local anesthetic to numb the skin and tissue above the joint. With the assistance of an x-ray device called a fluoroscope, your doctor will guide a needle into the facet joint for your facet injection. This location will be injected with a contrast dye to confirm the placement of the needle. A facet injection is done with a soothing mixture of anesthetic and anti-inflammatory steroid medication. One or more facet joints may be treated.

Upon completion of your facet injection, we will monitor you briefly and then you will go home. Our patients quickly return to their normal activities, usually the next day. We will want you to monitor your pain level for several days, always keeping in mind that it sometimes takes corticosteroids 2-3 days or more to start working. If your pain is relieved, it suggests that the facet joints targeted for facet injection were the source of your pain. For some patients, depending upon the extent and location of injury, pain may be eliminated by a single facet injection or it may need to be repeated at a later point. Up to three injections may be given in a year.

At Kentucky Pain Institute and Spurlock Chiropractic Centre we are well aware of the opioid epidemic that seems to be happening all around us. Pain medications are being prescribed irresponsibly and it takes only a short period of time to develop an addiction. We are committed to resolving your pain problem – and doing this without trading it for a substance abuse problem. When you schedule an appointment with us, you can expect to be treated by professionals with a depth of training and experience that will help you to find a path forward. Pain can be so disabling, preventing you from performing your usual activities of daily living and enjoying the simple pleasures of life. We will work hard to put this painful chapter behind you. Call us today at (606) 784-1115 or Toll-Free at (800) 318-4444 and talk with one of our friendly assistants who will answer your questions and help you to set up an appointment at our state-of-the-art facilities.