I fully understand why so many individuals living with chronic spinal pain turn to Pain Clinics—when you’re in pain, any hope of relief is tempting. And honestly, I don’t blame anyone for seeking it. But what if some of these interventions came with significant risks and offered no better long-term benefit than a placebo?
The latest 2025 Clinical Practice Guideline, published in the British Medical Journal, now issues strong recommendations AGAINST the following treatments:
- Joint radiofrequency ablation
- Targeted injection of local anaesthetic + steroid
- Epidural injection of local anaesthetic
- Intramuscular injection of local anaesthetic
- Dorsal root ganglion radiofrequency
I won’t claim to have a miracle cure—but I do know this: The interventions we offer as physiotherapists are far less likely to make things worse in the long run (Unless the treatments involve passive treatments, fear mongering and activity avoidance!)
If you’re curious about what I believe to be the single most effective intervention for chronic pain, check out this 1-minute VIDEO—one of the core interventions in The Pain Truth Program.