Radiofrequency (RF) is a minimally invasive target-selective technique that has been used with success for many years in the treatment of different pathologies, like low back pain, trigeminal neuralgia and others. RF is an alternating electric field with oscillation in the frequency of 500.000 Hz that flows through a percutaneously introduced electrode. The heat will be produced around the electrode, because the tissue acts as a resistor. Therefore, radiofrequency may be used to ablate nervous tissue in the treatment of chronic pain. The objective of this study was to review a few important aspects of the mechanism and evolution of radiofrequency in chronic pain. The basic aspects of Physics and the mechanism of radiofrequency, a method which has been used to treat different etiologies of chronic pain, besides the evolution that came with the introduction of pulsed radiofrequency will be herein elucidated. The application of radiofrequency in the management of chronic pain may be a useful tool in the management of several chronic pain conditions and have been successfully used in clinical practice for more than 25 years. Its mechanism of action has not been totally elucidated yet. Pulsed radiofrequency, in private, is a minimally destructive procedure that may offer alternatives for the pain treatment with radiofrequency.
Pain; Chronic disease; Radio waves
