Almost everyone (approximately 80% of people, in fact) experiences back pain at some point in their lives. Fortunately, most cases of back pain are acute, and symptoms only last a few days or weeks. However, back pain can become chronic and disrupt virtually every facet of your life.
When your back pain becomes chronic, traditional methods often begin to fail. Dr. David Wu and our team at CurePain have seen too many people struggle needlessly under the weight of chronic back pain simply because they don’t know about all of their options.
We offer a variety of treatments and approaches to chronic back pain that don’t sweep symptoms under the rug or require expensive, aggressive surgeries.
One of our most popular back pain relief procedures is radiofrequency ablation. Let’s dive in.
Traditional back pain relief (like prescription painkillers) may mask your symptoms for a while, but you won’t feel lasting relief until you address the underlying problem. That’s why radiofrequency ablation is so effective: It stops pain at the source.
Your nerves are your body’s communication system, telling your brain how to respond to the world around you. You can thank your nervous system the next time you yank your hand away from a hot stove.
Unfortunately, when you have chronic back pain, your nerves don’t stop relaying pain signals to your brain. With radiofrequency ablation, we can disrupt the endless cycle of pain by turning off the nerves constantly firing off pain signals.
Radiofrequency ablation can treat many causes of back pain, including arthritis, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, osteoporosis, sciatica, bone spurs, and other injuries.
But we don’t stop at back pain. Radiofrequency ablation is an effective treatment for pain conditions in your knee, shoulder, and hip — some with cervicogenic headaches and even heart rhythm issues have also turned to radiofrequency ablation.
The power of radiofrequency ablation treatment is right there in the name. To “ablate” something means to remove or destroy it. And that’s exactly what we set out to do with your misfiring and overactive nerves.
Radiofrequency ablation treatments are minimally invasive, safe, and low-risk, especially when compared to the addictive nature of pain medication and the inherent risk of surgical procedures.
During your treatment, you lie on your stomach on our X-ray table. We then numb the treatment area with a local anesthetic. The X-ray helps us guide a small, hollow needle into your damaged, malfunctioning nerves. We feed an electrode through the hollow needle, which administers radiofrequency energy to your nerves.
The energy heats your nerves, destroying them and preventing them from sending pain signals.
Depending on the number of nerves we need to ablate, the procedure can take 15 minutes to two hours to complete.
You’re worried about exposure to harmful energy waves, and understandably so. Rest assured that radio frequency energy is very low on the electromagnetic spectrum. You can actually find it in everyday items like your Bluetooth devices. Radiofrequency energy is safe in small doses.
There’s no lengthy recovery required after radiofrequency ablation, but you will want to take it easy for a few days. We recommend having a friend or family member drive you home and spend the rest of the day with your feet up.
After you’ve rested for a day or two, you’re generally safe to return to your regular activities, but make sure you attend your follow-up appointment with Dr. Wu to get an official “all clear.”
Many of our patients experience almost immediate pain relief, but don’t be discouraged if your pain takes a little longer (around three weeks) to subside.
Pain relief can last a limited time, or you could be pain-free for years. Keep in mind that radiofrequency ablation isn’t a cure. New nerve roots can regrow over time, and you may require a repeat ablation treatment.
If you’re sick of the standard (often ineffective) approach to back pain, you’ve come to the right place. Dr. Wu and our experienced staff are standing by to help you find real, lasting solutions to your pain.
Call our friendly staff or use our online booking tool to schedule a consultation at our Torrance, California, office today.
