For those with high-deductible or uninsured health plans, MDSave can be a great way to save money when it comes to medical procedures. Pain management plans often start with exercises, yoga, and water therapy, but if more intervention is needed to address the pain, Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) is a great option. The results of RFA can last anywhere from three to six months, and in some cases up to a year. RFA is a minimally invasive procedure that involves heating a nerve in the spine, hips, knees, or anywhere else in the body to prevent it from sending painful signals to the brain.
This procedure is usually recommended when joint pain has not responded to conservative treatments such as medication or injections. For many patients, RFA can provide relief that allows them to resume their daily activities and improve their quality of life. In cases where the first ablation is unsuccessful (16.49% of the ARF arm), it is estimated that 29.41% enter MT (4.85% of the total fraction in the ARF arm) and the rest have a second ablation. In a classic study of RFA conducted by Dreyfuss et al., approximately 400 patients were selected and only 15 patients whose pain was relieved by controlled blocks of the diagnostic medial branch of the lumbar zigapophyseal joints underwent RFA.
ARF was defined as initially successful if the electrophysiologist could not induce an arrhythmia in the laboratory after ARF.
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