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Ultrasound-Guided Cervical Facet Nerve Blocks (Medial Branch and Third Occipital Nerve)

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Book cover Regional Nerve Blocks in Anesthesia and Pain Therapy

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Abstract

The facet joints of the cervical spine are well-documented sources of chronic neck pain, with a prevalence among patients with chronic neck pain of around 40–50 % [1, 2]. To date, blocking the nerves of the facet joints with local anesthetic is the only validated method to diagnose facet joint pain [3]. In patients diagnosed with cervical facet joint-mediated pain, radiofrequency neurotomy is an effective therapy. It is supported by one high-quality randomized controlled trial [4] and several prospective observational studies [5–9]. In these trials, treatment has provided complete pain relief in 70–80 % of the selected patients for an average time of around 1 year.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Therapy, University of Bern, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland

    Andreas Siegenthaler

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  1. Andreas Siegenthaler
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Correspondence to Andreas Siegenthaler .

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Siegenthaler, A. (2015). Ultrasound-Guided Cervical Facet Nerve Blocks (Medial Branch and Third Occipital Nerve). In: Regional Nerve Blocks in Anesthesia and Pain Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05131-4_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05131-4_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-05130-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-05131-4

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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