[Relief of chronic cervical pain after selective blockade of zygapophyseal joint]

Osteoarthrosis of the zygapophyseal joint (Z-joint) is a potential cause of chronic cervical pain. The diagnosis of thirty patients, with pain of more than 12 months duration and with no history of trauma, was confirmed with intra-articular fluoroscopy-guided infiltration of anesthetic. The patients were subsequently treated with intra-articular corticosteroids (Depo-Medrol 40 mg). Visual Analogue Scale was used for evaluation purposes. The mean time for relapse of 50 percent of the pre-injection level of pain was 12.47 +/- 1.89 weeks, significantly longer than 3 days as reported in patients similarly treated following whiplash neck injury. At this point selective blockade of Z-joints may be offered as an adjunct for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes for patients with chronic neck pain due to facet osteoarthrosis in the ambulatory setup.