Cervical Medial Branch Block

Cervical Medial Branch Nerves

Located in the neck's facet joints, the cervical medial branch nerves are tiny nerves that transmit pain signals.

Cervical Medial Branch Nerve

Indications

Neck pain
Referred shoulder pain
Headache

Complications

Medial branch blocks complications should be rare as it is the safest spinal interventional procedure if performed according to medial branch blocks
Only wrong placement of the needle leads to complications

References

and Interesting Articles

Nikolai Bogduk, MD, PhD, DSc, Paul Dreyfuss, MD, Ray Baker, MD, Way Yin, MD, Milton Landers, DO, PhD, Michael Hammer, MD, Charles Aprill, MD, Complications of Spinal Diagnostic and Treatment Procedures, Pain Medicine, Volume 9, Issue suppl_1, May 2008, Pages S11–S34, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4637.2008.00437.x
Wasan, A.D., Jamison, R.N., Pham, L. et al. Psychopathology predicts the outcome of medial branch blocks with corticosteroid for chronic axial low back or cervical pain: a prospective cohort study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 10, 22 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2474-10-22
Boswell MV, Colson JD, Spillane WF: Therapeutic facet joint interventions in chronic spinal pain: A systematic review of effectiveness and complications. Pain Physician. 2005, 8: 101-114.
King JS, Lagger R: Sciatica viewed as a referred pain syndrome. Surg Neurol. 1976, 5: 46-50.

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