The role of thoracic medial branch blocks in managing chronic mid and upper back pain: a randomized, double-blind, active-control trial with a 2-year followup

This report has been verified by one or more authors of the original publication.

100 patients diagnosed with thoracic facet joint pain through local anaesthetic blocks were randomized to receive therapeutic medial branch blocks with or without the addition of betamethasone to determine its effect on pain relief and associated-disability. The numeric rating scale (NRS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) for pain and function were recorded over 2 years, along with employability, opioid intake, and adverse events experienced. The results indicated that there were no differences between groups for any outcome, and that there was no beneficial effect of betamethasone steroid in the medial branch block.