Medial Branch Block

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Overview How It Works Conditions It Treats What to Expect FAQs
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A diagnostic spinal injection that identifies whether an arthritic facet joint is truly causing your back or neck pain.

Overview:

A medial branch block is a diagnostic injection that uses a small amount of local anesthetic to temporarily numb the medial branch nerve supplying a specific facet joint in the spine. If this produces significant, though temporary, relief of familiar pain, it confirms that joint as a likely source of chronic back or neck pain. A positive result on this diagnostic test is generally required before proceeding to radiofrequency ablation, which offers longer-lasting relief.

How It Works:

The patient lies face down while fluoroscopic (live X-ray) guidance is used to position a small needle near the medial branch nerve at the targeted spinal level, where a small volume of local anesthetic is injected. A second, confirmatory block at the same level several weeks later is often recommended before considering radiofrequency ablation. The procedure typically takes 20-30 minutes with no sedation needed.

Conditions It Treats:

Back Pain • Neck Pain • Joint Pain

What to Expect:

Because the goal is diagnostic rather than long-term treatment, relief from the anesthetic is intentionally short, typically lasting only a few hours, during which patients track their pain to gauge the response. There is little to no downtime, and if the block confirms the facet joint as the pain source, radiofrequency ablation is typically the next step for more durable relief.

Ready to get away from the pain?

Contact Republic Pain Specialists and get relief today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Republic Pain & Longevity is a patient-centered practice that combines interventional pain management with health optimization programs. We diagnose and treat the source of pain through advanced diagnostics and targeted, minimally invasive therapies, while also helping patients build long-term metabolic health, hormone balance, and vitality through personalized, ongoing care.

Traditional pain management focuses on diagnosing and treating a specific pain condition through procedures like nerve blocks, injections, and radiofrequency ablation. Health Optimization takes a broader, proactive approach — using interventional procedures, diagnostic labs, imaging, diet, exercise, coaching, and lifestyle strategies to decrease inflammation, improve energy, metabolic health, and resilience, whether or not you currently have a chronic pain condition.

We treat a wide range of conditions, including knee osteoarthritis, headaches and migraines, back and neck pain, joint pain, SI joint pain and sciatica, muscle spasms and myofascial pain, nerve entrapments, post-surgical pain, TMJ/jaw pain, long COVID and more. See our Conditions page for the full list and details on each.

No. Our treatments are minimally invasive, image-guided procedures — such as nerve blocks, radiofrequency ablation, and targeted joint or soft-tissue injections — designed to reduce pain and restore function without surgery.

The Peak Wellness Plan is our structured Health Optimization program built around advanced lab testing, a detailed clinical assessment, and a personalized care plan followed over nine months — targeting metabolic health, hormone balance, inflammation, weight, sleep, nutrition, and physical function, with ongoing follow-up to track progress. This integrated approach treats chronic pain as a whole-body issue, not just a symptom to numb – combining precise medical intervention with the lifestyle foundations that support lasting relief.

Vibility is our guided lifestyle curriculum — a structured, self-paced resource that supports patients through nutrition, movement, recovery, and everyday habit changes alongside their clinical care. Real-time reporting on weight, sleep, energy, digestion, focus, and mood keeps you accountable.

Yes. Peptide therapy and IV hydration are available individually or as part of our health optimization offerings, and can be incorporated into your personalized care plan where appropriate.

For patients who prefer to pay out of pocket or whose plan doesn’t cover a given service, we offer financing through Cherry Financial.

 

  • Aetna
  • Amerigroup
  • BCBS
  • Cigna
  • First Care
  • Healthsmart
  • Humana
  • Medicare
  • Medicaid
  • Molina Health
  • Superior
  • TriCare
  • United Healthcare

Your first visit is a consultation with our team to review your history, any prior imaging or labs, and your goals — whether that’s pain relief, health optimization, or both. From there, we build a personalized plan, which may include additional diagnostics, a procedure, or enrollment in a health optimization program.

Contact our office at 979-703-1426 to schedule a consultation.