Kennedy DJ, et al. - In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, researchers investigated the efficacy of intra-articular (IA) injection of corticosteroids in reducing the need for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in those with dual comparative medial branch block (MBB)–confirmed lumbar z-joint pain. They randomized 56 consecutive subjects who had ≥80% pain relief during an initial screening MBB to receive a second confirmatory MBB and concurrent IA injection of either corticosteroid or saline. The groups displayed no statistically significant difference in the need for an RFA. This indicates that patients with dual MBB–confirmed lumbar z-joint pain do not show the reduced need for or time to radiofrequency ablation of the medial branches on receiving intra-articular corticosteroids.