Genicular Nerve Block and Ablation in Palm Coast, FL

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Interventional pain management in Palm Coast — minimally invasive care that treats pain at its source, in English and in Spanish.

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Dr. Manuel López, MD, board-certified pain management physician at Seaside Spine and Pain Center in Palm Coast, Florida

Genicular Nerve Block and Ablation in Palm Coast, FL

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Some arthritic knees keep hurting long after every reasonable injection has been tried. When that’s where you are, the nerves carrying the pain out of the knee can be tested and then quieted — a two-stage approach that proves the target before treating it.

What it treats

This is a knee-specific procedure, used for pain arising from the joint itself:

Knee PainArthritis & Osteoarthritis

The typical candidate has arthritic knee pain that hasn’t responded durably to therapy and injections, and either isn’t ready for joint replacement, can’t have one, or has had one and still hurts.

How it works

Sensation from the knee joint travels out along small branches called the genicular nerves, which run in predictable positions against bone just above and just below the joint. Their role is essentially confined to relaying sensation from the joint and its capsule — they don’t supply the muscles that move your leg — and that narrow job is what makes them a workable target.

Dr. Manuel López, a board-certified pain management and rehabilitation physician, begins with a diagnostic genicular nerve block: under precise image guidance, a small amount of local anesthetic is placed against each branch. If numbing them clearly reduces your knee pain, they’ve been shown to be the ones delivering it.

That result opens the second stage. Genicular radiofrequency ablation returns a specialized needle to those confirmed positions and uses radiofrequency energy to stop the branches relaying pain, each position verified again with nerve stimulation first. How that energy works is the same wherever it’s applied, and it’s set out on the radiofrequency ablation page. What’s particular here is that the targets were proven one at a time before being treated. The arthritis is untouched — what changes is how much of it reaches you.

What to expect

Both stages are outpatient, performed with you on your back and the knee supported, and both call for a ride home.

  • Before: the skin around the knee is cleaned and numbed at each planned entry point.
  • During: imaging places each needle against bone at the target position. You stay awake — for the ablation stage, so you can respond during nerve testing. Most patients describe pressure and warmth.
  • After: you’re observed briefly and go home the same day. Soreness around the knee is common early on.

What Dr. López wants from the block stage is specific: how much your pain dropped while the numbing lasted, and what you could do in that window that you couldn’t before. Judge the ablation stage over the following weeks instead — the first days belong to the soreness of the procedure itself.

Is it right for you?

The sequence fits best when:

  • A diagnostic block can settle whether these branches are the ones carrying your pain
  • A knee that was replaced still hurts, with no mechanical problem on imaging
  • Surgery is off the table medically, or you’d rather postpone it
  • Injections keep helping and keep wearing off

Dr. López reviews bleeding risk, blood thinners, infection near the knee, and any implanted device before scheduling. Relief here isn’t permanent — treated branches recover over time, and when the pain returns the sequence can be run again.

See whether your knee pain has a confirmable target

The block answers that question before anything lasting is done.

Call (386) 222-7746 or request an appointment.

Frequently Asked Questions

If your question is not answered here please call or message our office.

The first stage buys certainty for the second. Numbing the branches temporarily shows whether they're the ones delivering your knee pain: a clear drop while they're numb confirms the map, and the ablation stage then follows that map. No drop, and ablation simply isn't offered — the search moves to a structure these branches don't serve, or to the hip or the spine referring into the knee. Either way the answer arrives before anything lasting has been done.
These branches carry sensation from the knee joint and its capsule. They don't operate the muscles that bend or straighten your leg, and they aren't what supplies the skin sensation you rely on — a large part of why this target was chosen. They do run near vessels and near nerves with other work to do, though, which is why each position is re-checked with low-current stimulation rather than trusted on anatomy alone.
It isn't a replacement for surgery and it doesn't change the joint. It's an option for people who aren't candidates for surgery, who don't want it yet, or who have had a knee replaced and still have pain afterward. What it addresses is the signal the knee is sending, not the state of the cartilage.
They sit against bone at three main positions around the knee: two at the lower end of the thigh bone, on the inner and outer sides, and one at the inner side of the upper shin bone. Each is approached separately, which is why you'll feel work happening at several points rather than one. Their positions vary a little between people, and that variation is what the imaging resolves.

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Tell us about your pain and we'll help you take the next step — request an appointment or ask us a question.

Office Hours

Monday – Thursday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Friday: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Saturday – Sunday: Closed

Contact Information

Phone:(386) 222-7746

Fax:(386) 310-2381

Our Location

4863 Palm Coast Parkway NW, Units 2 & 3

Palm Coast, FL 32137

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