Published online Aug 6, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i22.7720
Peer-review started: September 29, 2021
First decision: April 7, 2022
Revised: April 26, 2022
Accepted: June 16, 2022
Article in press: June 16, 2022
Published online: August 6, 2022
Cervical facet joint pain (CFP) is one of the most common causes of neck pain and headache. Persistent CFP deteriorates the quality of life of patients and reduces their productivity at work.
In order to investigate the effectiveness of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) stimulation of cervical medial branches in patients with chronic CFP.
The authors aim to investigate the effectiveness of PRF stimulation of cervical medial branches in patients with chronic CFP.
The authors retrospectively included 21 consecutive patients (age = 50.9 ± 15.3 years, range 26-79 years; male: female = 8:13; pain duration = 7.7 ± 5.0 mo) with chronic CFP, defined as ≥ 4 on the numeric rating scale (NRS). The authors performed PRF stimulation on the cervical medial branches.
The outcomes of the PRF procedure were evaluated by comparing the NRS scores for CFP before treatment and 1 and 3 mo after treatment. Successful pain relief was defined as a ≥ 50% reduction in the NRS score at 3 mo when compared with the pretreatment NRS score.
PRF stimulation of the cervical medial branches may be used as an alternative treatment method in patients with CFP. PRF can effectively alleviate CFP, and is safe to perform.
PRF stimulation on cervical medial branches may be a useful therapeutic option to control chronic CFP.