Chronic Pain Solutions: When Is a Nerve Block Recommended?

One of the best-known nerve blocks is the shot your dentist uses to eliminate pain while they repair a cavity. But nerve blocks can reduce or stop pain in virtually every part of your body. They can also ease chronic pain and deliver long-lasting results.

Our board-certified healthcare providers at Alliance Spine and Pain Centers have years of experience using nerve blocks to relieve pain and help patients return to a more active lifestyle. Keep reading to learn more about when we recommend nerve blocks.

When you might need a nerve block

A nerve block is an injection containing a local anesthetic. After injecting it into a specific nerve, the anesthetic stops electrical signals from traveling through the nerve, effectively blocking nerve communication.

You may need a nerve block to:

1. Relieve pain (therapeutic nerve block)

Injecting an anesthetic into nerves carrying pain signals stops the message from reaching your brain. As a result, you experience rapid and dramatic pain relief.

Nerve blocks can treat chronic and acute pain. They can help manage cancer pain and pain after surgery.

Though anesthetics are known for short-term relief, they can produce long-lasting results, especially for people with chronic pain.

How long the results last depends on several variables. In some cases, the anesthetic reduces nerve irritation, giving the nerve time to heal and eliminating the pain.

Other variables affecting the results include the number of injections and whether we combine the anesthetic with another medication. For example, we may combine it with a steroid to reduce inflammation, delivering long-standing results.

2. Verify the pain source (diagnostic nerve block)

We use nerve blocks to identify or verify the nerve that’s transmitting pain signals. Your symptoms and diagnosis point toward the likely nerve. We inject a nerve block to confirm that the suspected nerve is the culprit.

If the injection alleviates your pain, we know it’s the right nerve. Then, we can recommend other treatments that give you extended pain relief, such as:

• Series of nerve blocks: Getting several injections may extend the pain relief. People dealing with chronic pain may find that their relief lasts months or years.
• Radiofrequency ablation: Radiofrequency energy creates a wound on the nerve that blocks pain signals for 9 months to two years or longer.
• Spinal cord stimulation: An implanted device uses electrical impulses to block nerve signals. You can keep the device implanted for as long as it eases the pain.

3. Support rehabilitation

Chronic pain often improves with physical therapy and rehabilitation. Physical therapy strengthens your body, improves mobility, reduces inflammation, and promotes long-term pain relief.

But you can’t benefit from physical therapy if you’re in too much pain to participate in the exercises. A therapeutic nerve block provides enough pain relief to let you engage in your rehabilitation program.

Conditions treated with nerve blocks

Nerve blocks can target nearly any nerve throughout your body and ease the pain caused by many different conditions.

Each nerve block is named according to the nerve and/or body area where it’s used. Here are a few examples:

Lumbar sympathetic nerve block

This nerve block treats lower back and leg pain caused by complex regional pain syndrome (CPRS), peripheral neuropathy, shingles, leg ulcers, peripheral artery disease (PAD), and other conditions.

Genicular nerve block

The genicular nerves carry pain messages originating in the knees. Blocking these nerves relieves pain caused by osteoarthritis, an injury, ligament strain, or any problem in your knee.

Medial branch block

The medial nerves serve the facet joints between vertebrae. A medial branch block eases the pain of spinal arthritis, joint inflammation, and other facet joint conditions.

Celiac plexus block

The celiac plexus is a group of nerves in your upper abdomen. A nerve block in the celiac plexus is often used to ease the pain of digestive system cancers (cancer of the stomach, liver, bile duct, pancreas, and other organs).

Occipital nerve block

Blocking signals in the occipital nerve (running along the back of the scalp and top of the head) relieves migraines and cluster headaches.

Intercostal nerve block

The intercostal nerves transmit pain messages from the chest. This nerve block treats pain from problems like fractured ribs and lung or breast surgery.

Stellate ganglion nerve block

The stellate ganglion refers to a collection of nerves in your neck near the voice box. A nerve block here alleviates neck, head, arm, and chest pain caused by nerve damage. We may recommend it for shingles or angina (heart pain caused by clogged arteries).

Learn if a nerve block might improve your pain

Call Alliance Spine and Pain Centers today, or connect online to request an evaluation and pain management recommendation.