How Long Do Facet Injections and Radiofrequency Ablation Last?
Nov 11, 2026
If a facet injection or radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is on your plan, the next question is usually practical: how long might the relief last? The honest answer is that it varies from person to person. This article walks through typical ranges from published studies and guidelines—and what those numbers do and do not mean. It is general education, not a promise about your result.
Garden State Medical Center physicians, including Dr. Dharam Mann, evaluate facet-related back and neck pain at our Toms River (1314 Hooper Ave), Freehold (322 Professional View Dr), and West Long Branch (100 NJ-36) offices, as well as our other locations. GSMC has several physicians. Dr. Mann personally performs spinal cord stimulation, MILD, Intracept, and InterStim when those later options are appropriate. InterStim implants are done at Manchester Surgery Center; consults are offered at all locations.
Three procedures that are easy to mix up
Duration depends on which procedure you mean:
- Intra-articular facet injections place local anesthetic, often with a corticosteroid, into the small joints of the spine. They may be tried for pain thought to come from those joints. See our facet joint injection page and the article on facet joint pain and medial branch blocks.
- Medial branch blocks numb the tiny nerves that carry pain signals from a facet joint. They are often used as a diagnostic test before RFA. Relief from the numbing medicine is meant to last hours, not weeks.
- Radiofrequency ablation uses heat to interrupt those same medial branch nerves in selected patients who have responded to diagnostic blocks. Because nerves can grow back, relief is not permanent. See radiofrequency ablation and what to expect after RFA.
How long facet injections typically last
Evidence that intra-articular steroid facet injections provide lasting relief is limited. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials in Pain Physician graded the evidence as Level IV, with low certainty and a low strength of recommendation. The reviewers looked for significant pain and function improvement lasting at least three months and grouped results as short-term (under six months) or long-term (over six months). They found no high-quality trials.
A 2020 multispecialty consensus guideline in Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine reviewed earlier randomized studies, including a classic New England Journal of Medicine trial in which only a minority of patients had meaningful benefit at six months (22% after steroid versus 5% after placebo), and a cervical trial in which pain often returned within a few days in both the steroid and control groups.
What that means in clinic: some people feel better for weeks to a few months after a facet injection; some notice only brief change; some notice little or none. No one can promise a timetable. If an injection helps only briefly, that information still matters for the next step, including whether diagnostic medial branch blocks and RFA are worth discussing.
How long radiofrequency ablation typically lasts
RFA is not a cure, because the treated nerves can regenerate. In carefully selected patients, many series and guidelines describe a typical window of about six to twelve months of meaningful relief, with some people doing better for longer and others getting little benefit.
The same 2020 lumbar facet consensus guideline treats a successful first RFA as at least 50% pain relief lasting three months or longer (preferably six months). When pain returns after a successful procedure, the guideline supports repeating RFA and recommends doing so no more than twice a year, given how long benefit usually lasts.
A 2015 cohort reported that lumbar medial branch RFA often helps for six to twelve months and possibly up to two years in some patients. A later cohort of patients selected with guideline-concordant dual medial branch blocks (at least 80% relief) found that a majority still reported at least 50% pain reduction at 6–12 months and at 12–24 months; the share was lower after 24 months. Those figures apply to selected patients, not to everyone who has back pain.
For cervical (neck) facet RFA, a 2021 multispecialty consensus guideline reported that the median time to pain recurrence has ranged from about six to fourteen months across studies. Again, individuals fall on both sides of that range.
Soreness for days to a couple of weeks after RFA is common and is not the same as “the procedure failed.” Full effect is often judged over subsequent weeks.
What affects how long relief lasts
- Whether the facet joints are actually the main pain source (this is why diagnostic blocks are used before RFA)
- How long the pain has been present, and other spine problems such as stenosis or disc-related nerve pain
- Accurate, image-guided placement
- What you do next, including physical therapy and daily activity when it is safe
- Overall health
Relief is not guaranteed. If pain returns, we review what helped, what did not, and whether a repeat procedure or a different option fits. Later options can include other interventional treatments; Dr. Mann personally performs spinal cord stimulation, MILD, Intracept, and InterStim when those are appropriate.
Where to be seen
Evaluation and follow-up are available at our Toms River, Freehold, and West Long Branch offices (and our other GSMC locations). To request a visit, use our appointment page or call 732-202-3000. Coverage varies. We verify benefits before scheduling procedures.
Sources
- Manchikanti L, Knezevic E, Sic A, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials of therapeutic intraarticular facet joint injections in chronic axial spinal pain. Pain Physician. 2025;28(4):261-286. PMID: 40773633.
- Cohen SP, Bhaskar A, Bhatia A, et al. Consensus practice guidelines on interventions for lumbar facet joint pain from a multispecialty, international working group. Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2020;45(6):424-467. https://rapm.bmj.com/content/45/6/424.
- Carette S, Marcoux S, Truchon R, et al. A controlled trial of corticosteroid injections into facet joints for chronic low back pain. N Engl J Med. 1991;325:1002-1007. (Summarized in Cohen et al., 2020.)
- McCormick ZL, Marshall B, Walker J, McCarthy R, Walega DR. Long-term function, pain and medication use outcomes of radiofrequency ablation for lumbar facet syndrome. Int J Anesth Anesth. 2015;2(2):028. doi: 10.23937/2377-4630/2/2/1028. PMC 4440581.
- The effectiveness of radiofrequency ablation of medial branch nerves for chronic lumbar facet joint syndrome in patients selected by guideline-concordant dual comparative medial branch blocks. Pain Med. PMID: 31609391.
- Cohen SP, et al. Consensus practice guidelines on interventions for cervical spine (facet) joint pain from a multispecialty international working group. Pain Med. 2021;22(11):2443-2524. PMC 8633772.
This article is for general patient education and is not a substitute for medical advice from your own clinician. Individual results vary, and no duration or outcome can be promised.