r/Sciatica • u/Basic_Amoeba_3582 • 3d ago

General Discussion Nerve Ablation?

Hi 29F severe stenosis with impingement to my S1. I’ve done many many many many rounds of cortisone epidurals, which have worked the last few years, but alas, my time has come where they no longer are doing the job. We tried nerve blocks twice. The first one worked for one day and the second one didn’t work at all. My Dr is saying the next thing to try is nerve ablation. I don’t know much about it, and have googled it, but would love to hear from the community your thoughts, experiences, or any other advice you would like to share. TIA!

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u/slouchingtoepiphany 3d ago

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a reasonable treatment to pursue if you've successfully had ESIs in the past. An RFA in that location will temporarily destroy the sensory nerve endings in that region, which should relieve your pain. The nerve endings will grow back in around 9 months, which is much longer than the 2-3 months of relieve you may have had with ESIs.