Relieve Arthritis Knee Pain with Rhizotomy of the Genicular Nerves

The rhizotomy of the genicular nerves is a procedure that eliminates sensitive nerve fibers responsible for transmitting pain sensations or pain signals from the knee to the brain. Consequently, the rhizotomy of the genicular nerves produces immediate and long-lasting knee pain relief that can last for years. It’s important to realize that the most significant chronic knee pain relief may not happen for four weeks. The rhizotomy exclusively destroys the over-firing pain nerve fibers without affecting the knee’s movement or functions.
 
Ablation of the genicular nerves and genicular nerves neurotomy are other names for this procedure. To emphasizes, the rhizotomy or genicular nerves is an outpatient minimally invasive procedure. Thus, most patients go home on the same day and return to work within the next 48 hours.

The destruction of the nerve fibers that carry pain sensation from the knee to the brain prevents pain perception. In other words, the person cannot experience pain from the area by cutting or eliminating the pain nerve fibers. Explicitly, chronic pain relief directly results from nerve fiber destruction. In fact, genicular nerve ablation or rhizotomy of the genicular nerves is an effective treatment option for arthritis knee pain.
 
Benefits of Rhizotomy of the Genicular Nerves or Genicular Nerves Ablation

The most notorious benefit of a rhizotomy or genicular nerve ablation is the significant and sustained improvement in patient quality of life.

• Pain Relief. It occurs within 28 days after the rhizotomy of the genicular nerves.
• Joint Movement Improvement
• Pain Killer Discontinuation
• Mobility Recovery
• Decrease anxiety
• Improve Mood
• Decrease Depression
• Minimally Invasive Procedure
• One Single Procedure.
• 48 hours downtime.
 
Types of Rhizotomy of the Genicular Nerves
 
The FDA approved various methods to perform rhizotomy of the genicular nerves. Specifically, the technique is chosen based on the patient’s medical history and nerve location. However, among them, the outcomes and the duration of the therapeutic effect are comparable.
 
• Endoscopic Rhizotomy
Endoscopy rhizotomy is a procedure in which three thin tubes with a tiny camera inside are inserted into the skin. Endoscopic rhizotomy enables direct viewing of the nerve fibers, allowing genicular nerve ablation or selective elimination of the chosen fibers.

• Glycerin/Glycerol Rhizotomy
Glycerin/Glycerol Rhizotomy uses a needle to inject glycerin/glycerol into the chosen pain nerve fibers to destroy them. The nerve ablation occurs 45 to 60 minutes after the chemical injection. To clarify, oversimplifying glycerin/glycerol genicular nerve ablation is a non-surgical procedure similar to an intramuscular injection.

• Radiofrequency Rhizotomy of the Genicular Nerves
Radiofrequency rhizotomy or radiofrequency ablation is a non-surgical procedure for chronic pain relief. The Radiofrequency rhizotomy of the genicular nerves is performed by inserting long needles that deliver radiofrequency waves into the nerves.

The neurotomy, or removal of nerve fibers, can relieve arthritic knee pain immediately. Nevertheless, some patients will need up to 4 weeks to receive full pain relief benefits from the rhizotomy. Besides, the pain may sometimes worsen during the first 72 hours post-procedure.

A successful rhizotomy procedure can relieve chronic knee pain from 4 to 24 months. The individual nerve regeneration speed is the reason for the wide difference in the treatment duration among successfully treated patients. Unfortunately, as the nerve regrows, the pain will gradually return.
 
Like most medical therapies and procedures, rhizotomy doesn’t guarantee to work for everybody. A small percentage of patients may not experiment with any improvement after the procedure.
 
Make an appointment right now to get an expert medical consultation and learn more about your treatment options. You can visit us at our clinics located in Frisco, Sunnyvale and Mesquite, TX. For further guidance and information, contact us or book an appointment. We also serve our patients from Dallas TX, Frisco TX, Mesquite TX, Sunnyvale TX, Plano TX, Garland TX, Forney TX, Cedar Hill TX, Denton TX, Balch Springs TX, and surrounding areas.