A common facet joint injection at surgery center facility in U.S. includes
| |
Units |
Avg Cash price |
Provider |
Provider fee to inject lower or sacral spine facet joint using imaging guidance
first level
Standard
|
1 |
$117 |
Facility |
Surgery center fee to inject lower or sacral spine facet joint using imaging guidance
Standard
Standard
|
1 |
$513 |
Total average cash price |
|
A common facet joint injection at outpatient hospital facility in U.S. includes
| |
Units |
Avg Cash price |
Provider |
Provider fee to inject lower or sacral spine facet joint using imaging guidance
first level
Standard
|
1 |
$117 |
Facility |
Outpatient Hospital fee to inject lower or sacral spine facet joint using imaging guidance
level 3
Standard
|
1 |
$1,016 |
Total average cash price |
|
A facet joint injection is an injection used to put medication directly between the vertebrae in your spine. It is used to treat pain in the neck or back. When treating lower back pain, it may be called a lower or sacral spine injection.
The facet joints can be damaged due to an inflammatory condition, injury, or overuse. When damaged, these joints can cause intense pain in the neck and back. This is known as facet syndrome and requires treatment with a spine joint injection.
Facet joint injections can be used as a diagnostic spine injection when your doctor isn’t sure which joints are causing you pain. After a facet joint injection, pain relief confirms which joint was responsible.
During a facet joint injection, the doctor inserts a needle and uses special imaging to ensure it is in the right place. Then you are injected with a mix of numbing medication and anti-inflammatory medication. These two medications work together to provide short and long-term relief for your pain. Your medical insurance might cover this procedure.
You should experience minimal pain during a facet joint injection. Before the procedure, the doctor uses a numbing agent to prepare the area for your back joint injection. This numbing medication may sting a bit at first, but as soon as it starts working, you should not feel any discomfort from an injection needle. Instead, you may feel a bit of pressure.
In general, facet joint injections are safe. There is a small risk of complications with the procedure. You could bleed or suffer an infection after the injection. This only happens in 1-2% of cases. An extremely rare complication from facet joint injections is spinal cord damage and paralysis. Your doctor and healthcare team take every precaution to reduce the risk of these complications.
Most people experience minimal pain during the procedure. You may feel a momentary small amount of discomfort as the needle is inserted. Joint aspiration is quick, and a local anesthetic may be used. The procedure can be done in your healthcare provider’s office.
The numbing medication in facet joint injections may help temporarily relieve nerve pain. However, they are not a good long-term treatment option for nerve pain. The anti-inflammatory medication relieves pain due to arthritis and injury but not nerve pain. An epidural or medial branch block will better treat spinal nerve pain.
Immediately after a facet joint injection, you need to recover in the procedure area. Once the medication has had enough time to take effect, you will be asked to move around and do activities that usually cause your back or neck to hurt. You will discuss how you are feeling with your doctor.
When you go home after your injection, you need to monitor your pain symptoms to provide an accurate report to your doctor on your follow-up visit. If you are still experiencing discomfort, you can continue to take your pain medication as usual. You may start physical therapy to help strengthen your back and prevent future pain from reoccurring.
Facet joint injections can last for a few months. The anti-inflammatory medication in facet joint injections starts to work in 3-5 days. How long the anti-inflammatory medication continues to work depends on the cause of your pain and how your body metabolizes drugs. You may receive multiple injections over six months to help heal your injury. A personalized insurance plan can help you cover the cost of facet joint injections.
Facet joint injections have very few side effects. Right after the injection, you might have some increased pain from where the needle entered your spine. You might have a headache or experience some flushing from the medications in the injection. You could have an allergic reaction to one of the medications used in the procedure in rare cases.
About the facet joint injection Average Cash Prices
This procedure is most commonly performed at either a surgery center or an outpatient hospital.
Surgery centers, also known as ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), are independent, licensed medical
facilities that are governed by distinct regulatory requirements compared with a hospital. Procedures
performed at an ASCs are often less expensive than when they are performed at an outpatient hospital,
but they typically offer fewer complimentary services, and may not have the full-range of support
services that a hospital provides.
Outpatient facilities are outpatient departments or clinics that may be within or next to a hospital,
but is owned and run by the affiliated hospital. These facilities can perform surgical treatments and
procedures that do not require an overnight stay. Procedures performed at an outpatient hospital are
often more expensive than when they are performed in an ambulatory surgery center, but outpatient
hospitals may offer more complimentary and support services for patients because they are connected to
the hospital system.
