Rhizotomy is a surgical procedure to sever nerve roots in the spinal cord. The procedure effectively relieves chronic back pain and muscle spasms. For spinal joint pain, a facet rhizotomy may provide lasting low back pain relief by disabling the sensory nerve at the facet joint. An electrified hot probe is inserted at the sensory nerve just outside the joint to disable the nerve and prevent pain signals from reaching the brain. If a patient responds well to facet injections, a rhizotomy will likely be an effective pain treatment.
