Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jun 28:14:1949-1957.
doi: 10.2147/JPR.S303979. eCollection 2021.

Optimal Cut-Off Points of Sagittal Spinopelvic Parameters as a Morphological Parameter to Predict Efficiency in Nerve Block and Pulsed Radiofrequency for Lumbar Facet Joint Pain: A Retrospective Study

Cheng-Loong Liang  1   2 , Shih-Wei Wang  1   3 , Han-Jung Chen  1   2 , Yu-Duan Tsai  1   2 , Jui-Sheng Chen  1   2 , Hao-Kuang Wang  1   2 , Kuo-Wei Wang  2   4
Affiliations

Optimal Cut-Off Points of Sagittal Spinopelvic Parameters as a Morphological Parameter to Predict Efficiency in Nerve Block and Pulsed Radiofrequency for Lumbar Facet Joint Pain: A Retrospective Study

Cheng-Loong Liang et al. J Pain Res. .

Abstract

Background: After proper patient selection, anatomically correct pulsed radiofrequency of the lumbar facet joints provide long-term pain relief in a routine clinical setting. In the study, we performed an analysis of clinical and radiological predictive factors and provide the scientific basis for this promising modality.

Methods: The study included 198 patients with lower back pain due to lumbar facet joint disease who underwent medial branch block and pulsed radiofrequency during the period 2015-2019. According to the improvement in pain score, the patients were divided into good and poor outcome groups. Clinical and radiological data were collected and analyzed.

Results: The multivariable analysis revealed the predictive factors, including lumbar lordosis, lower lumbar lordosis, pelvic tilt, the number of facet joints, old compression fracture with/without vertebroplasty, and post lumbar fusion procedures.

Conclusion: With the results of this study, we demonstrated that the improved outcome after the surgery was related to lumbar lordosis, lower lumbar lordosis, pelvic tilt, the number of facet joints, old compression fracture with/without vertebroplasty, and the lumbar fusion procedures. Old compression fractures and lumbar fusion would change the radiological factors and cause refractory lumbar facet joint pain.

Keywords: lower lumbar lordosis; lumbar facet joint pain; lumbar fusion; lumbar lordosis; pelvic tilt angle; pulsed radiofrequency.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The mean and 95% confidence interval of VAS of the good outcome and poor outcome groups across the measurements in patients who received block only (A) or both block and PRF (B). The asterisk “*” indicates a significant interaction between the two outcome groups. The mean and 95% confidence interval of SF-36 of the good outcome and poor outcome groups across the measurements in patients who received block only (C) or both block and PRF (D). The asterisk “*” indicates a significant interaction between the two outcome groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevalence of disabilities and associated health conditions among adults: United States. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevalence of disabilities and associated health conditions among adults--United States, 1999. JAMA. 2001;285(12):1571–1572. - PubMed
    1. Hancock MJ, Maher CG, Latimer J, et al. Systematic review of tests to identify the disc, SIJ or facet joint as the source of low back pain. Eruv Spine J. 2007;16(10):1539–1550. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abdurrahman Çetin A, Yektas A. Evaluation of the short- and long-term effectiveness of pulsed radiofrequency and conventional radiofrequency performed for medial branch block in patients with lumbar facet joint pain. Pain Res Manag. 2018;2018:7492753. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Revel M, Poiraudeau S, Auleley GR, et al. Capacity of the clinical picture to characterize low back pain relieved by facet joint anesthesia. Proposed criteria to identify patients with painful facet joints. Spine. 1998;23(18):1972–1976. - PubMed
    1. Schwarzer AC, Aprill CN, Derby R, Fortin J, Kine G, Bogduk N. The false-positive rate of uncontrolled diagnostic blocks of the lumbar zygapophysial joints. Pain. 1994;58(2):195–200. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources