October 12, 2026
Whiplash is one of the most common injuries following a motor vehicle collision, sports impact, or sudden physical trauma. The violent back-and-forth whipping motion of the head and neck can stretch ligaments, strain muscles, and damage the small, stabilizing joints along the back of the neck—known as the cervical facet joints.
When neck stiffness and localized aching persist long after soft tissue injuries have healed, facet joint inflammation is frequently the underlying culprit. A Cervical Medial Branch Block serves as a precise diagnostic procedure to confirm whether facet joints are driving chronic whiplash pain.
Each pair of vertebrae in the neck is connected at the back by small facet joints that provide stability and allow you to nod, turn, and tilt your head.
Each facet joint is innervated by tiny sensory nerve fibers called medial branch nerves. When a whiplash injury damages the joint capsule or causes local arthritis, these medial branch nerves continuously transmit pain signals up to the brain.
A Cervical Medial Branch Block is a targeted diagnostic test designed to temporarily freeze the specific nerves supplying suspected facet joints:
A medial branch block is not intended as a permanent cure; the local anesthetic wears off after a few hours. Instead, it serves as a crucial diagnostic “test drive.”
If the patient experiences immediate, substantial pain relief (typically 70% to 80% or greater) while the medication is active, it confirms that those specific facet joints are the source of the whiplash pain.
With the diagnostic origin proven, patients become ideal candidates for Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)—a procedure that uses thermal energy to deactivate the medial branch nerves, providing 6 to 18 months of long-lasting pain relief.