What is a facet injection?
It is an injection of both a long-lasting steroid cortisone (like triamcinolone or methylprednisolone) and an anesthetic numbing agent (like lidocaine or bupivacaine) into a specific facet joint of your spine. The injection can be placed inside the joint capsule or in the tissue surrounding the joint capsule. Corticosteroids reduce inflammation, and theyre very effective when delivered directly into the part of your back that is causing pain. Corticosteroids are different than the anabolic steroids that athletes may use. The facet joint is the moveable joint of the spine that connects one vertebra to another (see Anatomy of the Spine). This procedure is different than an epidural steroid injection, which injects the steroid into the epidural space of the spinal cord. Facet injections may provide relief of pain and inflammation as well as provide more diagnostic information for your physician. The injection blocks the pain in much the same way as your dentist would use an anesthetic inj
