Literature References Supporting the Technique Facet Injection Literature References Harefuah. 2004 May;143(5):339-41, 391. [Relief of chronic cervical pain after selective blockade of zygapophyseal joint] [Article in Hebrew] Folman Y, Livshitz A, Shabat S, Gepstein R. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, Hadera, Israel. Osteoarthrosis of the zygapophyseal joint (Z-joint) is a potential cause of chronic cervical pain. The diagnosis of thirty patients, with pain of more than 12 months duration and with no history of trauma, was confirmed with intra-articular fluoroscopy-guided infiltration of anesthetic. The patients were subsequently treated with intra-articular corticosteroids (Depo-Medrol 40 mg). Visual Analogue Scale was used for evaluation purposes. The mean time for relapse of 50 percent of the pre-injection level of pain was 12.47 +/- 1.89 weeks, significantly longer than 3 days as reported in patients similarly treated following whiplash neck injury. At this point selective blockade of Z-joints may be offered as an adjunct for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes for patients with chronic neck pain due to facet osteoarthrosis in the ambulatory setup. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2001 Mar;80(3):182-8. Therapeutic zygapophyseal joint injections for headaches emanating from the C2-3 joint. Slipman CW, Lipetz JS, Plastaras CT, Jackson HB, Yang ST, Meyer AM. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104, USA. OBJECTIVE: To report our experience using fluoroscopically guided therapeutic intra-articular C2-3 zygapophyseal joint injections in patients with chronic headaches after a whiplash event. DESIGN: Restrospective study (n = 18 patients) with independent clinical review. Each patient experienced persistent daily headache symptoms which failed to improve after at least 3 mo of physical therapy, activity restriction, and the use of oral analgesics. Each patient demonstrated initially a positive response to a diagnostic intra-articular C2-3 joint injection. Data collection and analysis were performed by an independent clinical reviewer. Outcome measures included headache frequency, medication usage, symptom response to medication, and employment status. RESULTS: Patients' symptom duration before diagnostic injection averaged 34 mo. Follow-up data collection transpired at an average of 19 mo after the final therapeutic injection. In 61% of patients, fewer than three headaches were experienced each week; these headaches were relieved with the use of oral analgesics. CONCLUSIONS: Although the inherent limitations of this study preclude a definitive statement regarding the efficacy of C2-3 injections, these initial findings suggest that therapeutic intra-articular zygapophyseal joint injections are effective in the treatment of headaches emanating from the C2-3 joint after a whiplash event. Future controlled, prospective studies are necessary to clarify the role of such injections in this challenging patient population Reg Anesth. 1993 Nov-Dec;18(6):343-50. Medial branch blocks are specific for the diagnosis of cervical zygapophyseal joint pain. Barnsley L, Bogduk N. Cervical Spine Research Unit, University of Newcastle, Waratah, New South Wales, Australia. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES. To determine the specificity of cervical medial branch blocks for the diagnosis of cervical zygapophyseal joint pain by ascertaining the disposition of the local anesthetic after injection of the medial branches of the cervical dorsal rami. METHODS. Sixteen consecutive patients with chronic neck pain from motor vehicle accidents underwent cervical medial branch blocks. A 22-gauge, 90-mm spinal needle was placed onto the target nerve under image-intensifier guidance. Immediately after each target nerve had been infiltrated with 0.5 ml of local anesthetic, 0.5 ml of contrast medium was injected to map the spread of injectate. Radiographs were recorded to document the pattern of spread. RESULTS. Twenty-five injections of local anesthetic and contrast medium were performed. Contrast medium dispersed in characteristic patterns at all vertebral levels and always incorporated at least 5 mm of the perceived course of the target nerve. There was never any spread to the ventral ramus, beyond the medial fibers of semispinalis capitis or to the adjacent medial branches. No other single structure was consistently within the field of the contrast. Eleven patients obtained complete or definite relief of their pain, which could only be attributed to anesthetization of the zygapophyseal joint innervated by the nerves blocked. CONCLUSIONS. Local anesthetic blocks of the cervical medial branches are a specific test for the diagnosis of cervical zygapophyseal joint pain. The local anesthetic always reaches the target nerve and does not affect any other diagnostically important structures.