ReviewCurrent pain and headache reports2012
Radiofrequency treatment of facet-related pain: evidence and controversies.
Review in Current pain and headache reports, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 61 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of pulsed radiofrequency in treatment of facet-joint origin back pain in patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2014Trial
- Assessment of real-world, prospective outcomes in patients treated with lumbar radiofrequency ablation for chronic pain (RAPID).Interventional pain medicine · 2025Article
- Radiofrequency Denervation of the Spine and the Sacroiliac Joint: A Systematic Review based on the Grades of Recommendations, Assesment, Development, and Evaluation Approach Resulting in a German National Guideline.Global spine journal · 2024Review
- Traditional versus cooled-radiofrequency neurotomy for the treatment of chronic lumbar facet (zygapophyseal) joint pain.Pain management · 2024Article
- Development of an ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation technique in the equine cadaveric distal limb: histological findings and potential for treating chronic lameness.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Article
- A comparison of pulsed radiofrequency and radiofrequency denervation for lumbar facet joint pain.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2023Article
- Lumbar Facet Syndrome and the Use of Radiofrequency Ablation Technique as an Alternative Therapy: A Systematic Review.Revista brasileira de ortopedia · 2023Article
- Gantry-needle-target alignment technique for CT-guided needle approaches to the skull base and cranio-cervical junction.Neuroradiology · 2022Article
- The American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN) Evidence-Based Clinical Guideline of Interventional Treatments for Low Back Pain.Journal of pain research · 2022Review
- Impact of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) on bone quality in a murine model of bone metastases.PloS one · 2021Article
- Consensus practice guidelines on interventions for lumbar facet joint pain from a multispecialty, international working group.Regional anesthesia and pain medicine · 2020Article
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- Article
- Influence of BMI, gender, and sports on pain decrease and medication usage after facet-medial branch neurotomy or SI joint lateral branch cooled RF-neurotomy in case of low back pain: original research in the Austrian population.Journal of pain research · 2017Article
- Outcomes and prognostic variables of radiofrequency zygapophyseal joint neurotomy in Utah workers' compensation patients.Journal of pain research · 2017Article
- Interventional spine procedures for management of chronic low back pain-a primer.Seminars in interventional radiology · 2013Review
- MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery, present and future.Medical physics · 2013Review
- Radiofrequency treatment has a beneficial role in reducing low back pain due to facet syndrome in octogenarians or older.Clinical interventions in aging · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Pain originating from the lumbar facet joints is estimated to represent about 15% of all low back pain complaints. The diagnostic block is considered to be a valuable tool for confirming facetogenic pain. It was demonstrated that a block of the ramus medialis of the ramus dorsalis is preferred over an intra-articular injection. The outcome of the consequent radiofrequency treatment is not different in patients reporting over 80% pain relief after the diagnostic block than in those who have between 50% and 79% pain relief. There is one well-conducted comparative trial assessing the value of one or two controlled diagnostic blocks to none. The results of the seven randomized trials on the use of radiofrequency treatment of facet joint pain demonstrate that good patient selection is imperative for good clinical outcome. Therefore, we suggest one block of the ramus medialis of the ramus dorsalis before radiofrequency treatment.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.