What is a facet joint injection?

A facet joint injection is a narrow, named procedure, which makes it easier to price than a vague promise of back pain relief.

What a facet joint injection targets

Cleveland Clinic says facet joints are pairs of small joints between the vertebrae in your spine. Wikipedia states that facet joint injections are mainly used as a therapeutic to relieve back pain caused by the facet joints. So the injection targets those small spinal joints.

Questions the name alone does not answer

What is injected, how long relief lasts and what the procedure costs are details to request in writing from the office that quotes you.

Next steps before you compare quotes

Ask which joints will be treated, what goes into them, and whether the price is per joint or per visit. Keep the answers side by side for each office you call. Cleveland Clinic's page on cortisone shots is a general read on steroid injections, and MedlinePlus on pain offers broader context.

Two estimates, one procedure

Someone in Garfield comparing two estimates should check that both describe the same procedure. A lower number for a different procedure is not a bargain.