Know All Your Options
(Before Drugs or Surgery)
Our team of diverse professionals combine a holistic approach to address pain at the source.
What are Facet Joint Injections?
The facet joints are the small, cartilage-lined hinges that connect your vertebrae, allowing your spine to bend, twist, and stay stable. When these joints become inflamed due to osteoarthritis, repetitive stress, or traumatic injury (like whiplash), they can cause a specific type of deep, localized "axial" pain. This often leads to a cycle of stiffness and reflexive muscle guarding that prevents you from moving correctly.A Facet Joint Injection is a targeted, minimally invasive clinical procedure used to deliver a concentrated dose of anti-inflammatory medication and a long-acting anesthetic directly into the joint capsule or near the medial branch nerves that supply it. Using advanced fluoroscopic (X-ray) guidance, our physicians ensure the medication reaches the precise mechanical source of your pain with sub-millimeter accuracy.
The Goodlife Approach: A Strategic Tool for Structural Alignment
At Goodlife Physical Medicine, we do not view facet blocks as a recurring "pain mask." In our multidisciplinary approach, these injections are a vital clinical "reset" used to clear a path toward a total CURE.When a facet joint is acutely inflamed, your body instinctively locks up to protect itself, making effective rehabilitation nearly impossible. By utilizing a facet block to quiet the chemical inflammation and soothe the neural "alarm system," we create a critical window of mechanical freedom. This relief allows our Chiropractors to perform more precise structural adjustments and enables our Physical Therapists to strengthen the supportive tissues around the spine. We aren't just treating the joint; we are unlocking your body's ability to participate in the restorative work required for long-term health.
Right for You?
Facet Joint Injections may be a necessary component of your multidisciplinary treatment plan if you experience:
- Persistent neck or back pain that worsens with twisting, bending backward, or looking side-to-side.
- Localized spinal pain that hasn't responded to chiropractic care or physical therapy alone.
- Documented arthritis, degeneration, or "facet syndrome" in the spinal joints.
- Pain that radiates into the shoulders or buttocks but is not caused by a herniated disc.
- A need to define the exact source of your pain to determine if you are a candidate for long-term Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA).
Potential Benefits
- Targets the Mechanical Root Cause: Delivers powerful anti-inflammatories directly into the hinges of the spine to resolve irritation at the source.
- Avoidance of Surgical Intervention: Provides a highly effective alternative to invasive spinal fusions or hardware procedures.
- Diagnostic Precision: Confirmed relief from a block helps your medical team "map" your spine and verify the exact level requiring structural correction.
- Enhanced Functional Performance: Reduces the "guarding" response, allowing for a faster return to daily activities, exercise, and physical rehabilitation.
How It Works
4 Locations: Serving the South Bay of Los Angeles
Know your coverage
(You may be covered)
Proud providers of major insurance companies
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Disclaimers: Individual results may vary. Facet Joint Injections are a medical procedure administered by a licensed physician using fluoroscopic guidance as part of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary care plan. No warranties or guarantees are made regarding specific clinical outcomes or a total "cure." The clinical necessity of a facet block is determined by a thorough evaluation of symptoms, physical examination, and diagnostic imaging (MRI/X-ray). Insurance coverage is subject to your carrier's assessment of medical necessity and individual plan benefits.