The Importance of Medial Branch Blocks After a Colorado Car Accident

What are medial branch blocks? Medial branch blocks are diagnostic spinal injections used to confirm whether pain is coming from the facet joints. They are crucial in personal injury cases because they help pinpoint the source of chronic neck or back pain and justify more advanced treatments like radiofrequency ablation. When a client needs medial branch blocks after a crash, it signals persistent, serious pain that has not responded to conservative care, and it creates powerful medical evidence that supports the value of the claim.

In many spine injury cases, standard imaging does not tell the full story. A person may have chronic neck or low back pain after an accident, but their MRI shows only modest degenerative changes that defense experts try to label as “normal for age.” Medial branch blocks bridge that gap between symptoms and imaging. They help a treating pain specialist prove that the tiny medial branch nerves supplying the facet joints are actually causing the pain. That confirmation is critical medically and legally.

When are Medial Branch Blocks Recommended After an Accident?

Medial branch blocks are injections that target the medial branch nerves, which carry pain signals from the facet joints in the spine to the brain. Instead of injecting directly into the joint, the doctor injects a small amount of local anesthetic (and sometimes steroid) near the medial branch nerve under imaging guidance. If the patient’s pain improves significantly for the duration of the anesthetic, it strongly suggests that the facet joints at that level are the primary pain generator.

Medial branch blocks are appropriate when:

• The patient has axial neck or low back pain believed to be facet-related rather than classic nerve root pain (like sciatica).
• Pain is chronic, often worse with extension, rotation, or prolonged standing, and has not responded to conservative care such as medication, physical therapy or chiropractic treatment.
• Physical exam and sometimes imaging suggest facet involvement, but the provider wants objective confirmation before moving to radiofrequency ablation (RFA) or other interventions.
• The provider needs to distinguish facet joint pain from disc-related pain, muscular pain, or other sources.

In the context of a personal injury case, the use of medial branch blocks usually follows weeks or months of failed conservative treatment. That alone communicates that the injury is ongoing, complex and serious enough to warrant advanced diagnostics.

Will the Medical Records Clearly Support the Claim?

If the pain management provider documents thoroughly, medial branch blocks generate some of the best causation and severity evidence you can get in a spine case.

Ideal documentation will include:

• A clear history describing persistent neck or back pain after the accident, including onset, quality, aggravating activities and impact on work and daily life.
• Physical examination findings consistent with facet-mediated pain (for example, pain with extension and rotation).
• A record of prior conservative treatments and the fact that they did not provide sufficient relief.
• Imaging results (even if only mildly abnormal), used in combination with clinical findings.
• The provider’s rationale for doing medial branch blocks rather than guessing or jumping straight to RFA.
• Procedure notes documenting which levels were blocked, how the procedure was done, and what anesthetic was used.
• Follow-up records showing percentage of pain relief and duration of benefit.

Those details allow you to argue that this is not “subjective” pain. Instead, a specialist used a recognized diagnostic tool to identify the pain source. That makes it far more difficult for defense lawyers to claim that your client’s pain is unrelated to the accident.

Do Medial Branch Blocks Impact Physical Therapy?

Medial branch blocks can indirectly improve participation in physical therapy. They are primarily diagnostic, but when the anesthetic numbs the medial branch nerves for a few hours or days, patients often get a temporary window of reduced pain. During that period, they may:

• Move more freely.
• Perform strengthening and stabilization exercises that were too painful before.
• Build confidence in movement that had become guarded and restricted.

In practice, medial branch blocks are often used less to “treat” long-term pain and more to confirm that the facet joints are the problem. Once confirmed, the provider may proceed to radiofrequency ablation, which can provide months of relief and much better conditions for long-term rehabilitation. That treatment staircase — physical therapy, chiropractic care, facet injections, medial branch blocks, then RFA — tells a compelling story of serious pain and persistent limitations.

Risks and Potential Side Effects of Medial Branch Blocks

Medial branch blocks are minimally invasive but still carry risks, which underscores that they are not trivial procedures.

Common or expected effects include:

• Temporary soreness or bruising at the injection site.
• A short-term flare of pain as the anesthetic wears off.
• Transient numbness, weakness, or odd sensations if the drug spreads.

Less common, more serious risks can include:

• Infection at the injection site.
• Bleeding or hematoma formation.
• Allergic reaction to anesthetic or contrast.
• Very rare nerve damage or unintended spread into the spinal canal.

Steroid is sometimes included in medial branch blocks, but in many protocols the primary purpose is diagnostic, so the main agent is local anesthetic. That means systemic steroid complications are less common than with some other spinal injections, but they are still possible when steroids are used.

From a litigation perspective, the fact that your client accepted these risks simply to manage pain and get clarity about its source supports their credibility and reinforces that they were genuinely suffering.

How Medial Branch Blocks Fit into the Overall Treatment Plan

Medial branch blocks sit squarely in the diagnostic and interventional part of the treatment ladder. A typical progression looks like this:

1. Accident and initial evaluation (ER, urgent care, primary care).
2. Conservative care: medication, physical therapy, chiropractic, massage, activity modification.
3. Imaging (MRI or CT) to rule out fractures, severe stenosis, or major disc herniations.
4. Ongoing pain focused in the neck or low back with a facet pattern.
5. Referral to pain management for medial branch blocks to confirm facet joint involvement.
6. If blocks provide significant temporary relief, proceed to radiofrequency ablation of the medial branch nerves for longer-lasting pain control.
7. Continued rehabilitation, functional training, and evaluation for permanent impairment if pain persists.

That progression matters because it shows the client followed a rational, medically accepted path. They did not jump straight to invasive procedures. They followed the ladder step by step as their providers recommended. That makes it easier to argue medical necessity and harder for a defense expert to claim overtreatment.

What Is the Expected Cost of Medial Branch Blocks?

The cost of medial branch blocks varies by facility, region, and the number of spinal levels treated. In many markets, a single medial branch block procedure can fall in a similar range as other image-guided spinal injections — often several hundred to over a thousand dollars per session, with higher amounts when multiple levels or bilateral procedures are performed.

Costs will include:

• Facility fee (surgery center or hospital outpatient department).
• Physician fee.
• Imaging guidance (usually fluoroscopy).
• Medications and supplies.

Patients pay through:

• Medical payments (MedPay) coverage under auto insurance
• Health insurance
• Letters of protection (lien-based care)
• Workers’ compensation for job-related injuries.

For damages, those charges become part of special damages and also support the argument that ongoing spinal pain generated significant, verifiable economic loss.

How Can Medial Branch Blocks Be Presented as Evidence of a Serious Injury?

Medial branch blocks are powerful in front of an adjuster or jury because they are clearly not routine, low-level care. They show:

• Conservative treatment did not resolve the problem.
• A specialist believed the facet joints were damaged enough to justify an invasive diagnostic procedure.
• The pain’s origin was serious enough that local anesthetic needed to be injected around spinal nerves to confirm the source.
• The client took on risk and inconvenience to find relief and answers.

If the blocks provide partial or temporary relief, you can use that to argue that the injured facet joints are a chronic pain source and that longer-term solutions (like RFA) and ongoing limitations are likely. If multiple blocks or levels are involved, that tells an even stronger story.

Medial branch blocks also give you language: you can talk about specific levels (e.g., L4–L5, L5–S1), the percentage reduction in pain, and how the client functioned during relief versus after it wore off. That level of detail makes the injury real.

Will an Expert Witness Be Needed?

In more serious or disputed cases, you will almost always want an expert witness — usually the treating pain management physician or a similarly credentialed specialist.

An expert can:

• Explain the anatomy of the medial branch nerves and facet joints in simple terms.
• Describe why the pattern of pain after the accident pointed toward facet involvement.
• Walk the factfinder through the logic of using medial branch blocks as a diagnostic tool.
• Explain why positive relief from the blocks confirms the injury is facet-related and trauma-driven rather than purely degenerative.
• Discuss prognosis, including the likelihood of needing repeat RFA procedures or experiencing permanent limitations.

Because defense experts often argue that facet and medial branch issues are “degenerative” or pre-existing, having your expert tie the timing and progression of symptoms to the crash is critical.

What About Settlement and Payout in Cases Involving Medial Branch Blocks?

As with other interventional procedures, there is no single “average settlement” for cases involving medial branch blocks. Value depends on:

• Severity and chronicity of the pain.
• Number of injections and levels treated.
• Whether the patient ultimately needed radiofrequency ablation or surgery.
• Impact on work, daily life, and long-term function.
• Age, pre-existing conditions, and credibility.

What you can say safely is that cases involving medial branch blocks generally settle for significantly more than cases resolved with conservative care alone. The blocks:

• Increase medical specials.
• Demonstrate persistent spinal pain despite conservative treatment.
• Support arguments for future care (repeat RFAs, continued pain management).
• Help justify non-economic damages for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.

When medial branch blocks confirm a pain generator and the provider later assigns a permanent impairment rating, settlement value typically increases even further.

Why Medial Branch Blocks Matter in a Personal Injury Case

Medial branch blocks matter because they transform vague complaints of back or neck pain into a medically grounded diagnosis of facet-mediated spinal pain. They show that your client followed a proper treatment path, underwent a targeted diagnostic procedure, and still struggled with serious pain.

For injured people, the goal is relief and answers. For your case, the goal is proof.

Contact Colorado’s Top Personal Injury Law Firm

If you required medial branch blocks after a crash or fall, you are dealing with more than a simple strain. Our firm understands the significance of medial branch blocks in personal injury cases and how to present this evidence to insurance companies, mediators, and juries. We know how to connect the injections to the trauma, explain their necessity, and prove how your pain has changed your life.

Contact our office today to speak with an attorney who understands spine injuries, interventional pain management, and the medical evidence needed to obtain full and fair compensation for your injuries, medical bills, and long-term suffering. Our legal team is committed to fighting for those whose lives have been disrupted by injury and pain — and we are here to help you rebuild. Contact the top-rated personal injury law firm in Colorado to get a free consultation with one of our car accident attorneys. We serve Colorado including Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, and Fort Collins.