WAD injuries diagnosed by anesthetic block under fluoroscopic guidance are most closely associated with pain originating from which structure?

• A. Facet joints
• B. IVD
• C. CNS/PNS
• D. Dorsal root ganglia

Answer: (A)

Whiplash often irritates the cervical facet joints, making them a common source of neck pain after injury. A diagnostic anesthetic block under fluoroscopic guidance targets the nerves that supply these joints—the medial branches of the dorsal rami—and/or the facet joint capsule itself. If pain relief occurs soon after the block, this strongly indicates the facet joints are the pain generator.

Disc-related (IVD) pain is less typically identified this way and is usually evaluated with disc-specific testing, not a standard facet block. Pain arising from the CNS/PNS or the dorsal root ganglion points to neuropathic or radicular sources, which are not the primary targets of a typical WAD diagnostic facet block.