What to expect from facet joint injection for lumbar spondylosis

Facet joints connect the bones at the back of the lumbar spine. Spondylosis can irritate these joints and nearby tissues, causing local back pain, stiffness, or pain that spreads into the buttock. A clinician uses imaging guidance to place a needle accurately, then injects numbing medicine and an anti-inflammatory medicine around the joint. The appointment may include a skin-cleaning step and local anaesthetic. You may feel pressure or a brief sting, and the team will check you before you leave.

Follow instructions about eating, drinking, medicines, diabetes, allergies, and blood-thinning treatment. Arrange transport if sedation is planned. Afterward, keep the injection site clean and follow the activity plan; avoid strenuous lifting until your clinician says it is suitable. Temporary soreness or numbness can occur. Keep a simple record of pain and movement over the following days, because the response helps guide the next part of your spine-care plan.

Contact the treating service promptly for increasing redness, warmth, swelling, drainage, or fever. Seek urgent help for new leg weakness, loss of bladder or bowel control, numbness around the groin, severe unrelenting pain, or breathing difficulty. These symptoms need assessment rather than waiting for the injection to take effect.

Ask which facet joint is being targeted, whether imaging or sedation will be used, how to manage your usual medicines, when to restart exercise, and what result would change the treatment plan.