Basivertebral Nerve Ablation (BVN) for Low Back Pain

Basivertebral nerve ablation (BVN), also called the Intracept procedure, is one treatment for a specific kind of chronic low back pain. This article gives general information. It is not a personal recommendation, and it is not a promise of relief.

For care at HTx Pain Institute in Houston and Humble, see Intracept procedure in Houston.

What the Intracept procedure treats

BVN, also called the Intracept procedure, is aimed at vertebrogenic low back pain. That pain comes from the vertebral endplates, the top and bottom surfaces of a vertebra. It is a different source from a disc or a facet joint.

The imaging sign doctors look for is a Modic type 1 or type 2 change on MRI. The procedure uses radiofrequency energy to ablate the basivertebral nerve inside the vertebral body. No implant is left behind.

Who may be a candidate

A physician may consider BVN for people with chronic low back pain for 6 months or more, Modic changes on MRI that fit vertebrogenic pain, and pain that has not improved with conservative care such as physical therapy and injections. A physician still has to confirm this with an exam and imaging. This article cannot tell you if you qualify.

What the research says

A follow-up of people treated in the SMART trial was published by Fischgrund and colleagues in the European Spine Journal in 2020. The five year report looked at patients in the United States who had already had basivertebral nerve ablation. Of 117 treated patients, 100 were available at an average of 6.4 years. In that group, the average disability score and the average pain score were lower than before treatment.

This follow-up was not a new comparison against a sham procedure. Many people in the original sham group later crossed over to treatment, so the five year numbers are a follow-up of treated patients. The trial sponsor was Relievant Medsystems. Study results are not a promise of what any one person at this clinic will experience.

Source: Fischgrund JS, Rhyne A, Macadaeg K, et al. Long-term outcomes following intraosseous basivertebral nerve ablation for the treatment of chronic low back pain: 5-year treatment arm results from a prospective randomized double-blind sham-controlled multi-center study. Eur Spine J. 2020. PubMed 32451777.

Intracept procedure in Houston

The service page covers who may be a candidate, what the day of the procedure involves, and how to ask about your own MRI.

Intracept procedure in Houston