Nerve Blocks
Living with chronic nerve pain is debilitating and affects every aspect of your life. In addition to the physical agony, there is the emotional stress that comes from having friends and family members not understand why you can’t simply “buck up” and get on with things.
They fail to comprehend that chronic nerve pain overwhelms your every thought. It is easy for nerve pain to get to the point where it rules your life.We understand how overwhelming dealing with chronic pain can be. Our goal is to help you to design a pain management treatment that allows you to take your life back from pain.
There are a lot of different treatment options to address nerve pain, and our goal is to work with you to find one that provides you with the relief you desperately need.One type of treatment that has worked well for many of our clients are nerve blocks, and they might work well for you.
What Is a Nerve Block?
Simply put a nerve block is an injection that is designed to minimize your inflammation or to deactivate the pain signals that are carried along a specific nerve or a specific group of nerves. Live x-ray guidance is often used to help the doctor provide the injection in the right location to give you maximum pain relief.
A nerve block serves three beneficial purposes.
- First, they may give the damaged nerve time to heal
- Second, they give you temporary relief from your pain
- Third, they help your doctor identify the specific cause of your pain
The nerve block procedure is relatively simple and straightforward. It does not require you to do any special preparation. It is good to inform your doctor if you might be pregnant or if you know for sure that you are pregnant.
When you go in for the procedure, you’ll wear loose clothing, and it is recommended that you not wear a lot of jewelry. You may be required to wear a gown during the procedure.
Who Benefits from Nerve Blocks?
Nerve blocks are beneficial for individuals who have acute or chronic nerve pain. Their goal is to provide temporary pain relief while long-term pain relief treatments can be devised.
A good portion of nerve block recipients are dealing with pain that originates in their spine, neck, buttocks, arms, and legs. When you are in pain, your nerves are in a constant state of irritation. As a result, they cannot heal. Nerve blocks stop that state of irritation, giving your nerves the time they need to recover.
Doctors are able to monitor how you respond to your injection. This gives them information about the source of your pain, and it guides them as they prepare further treatments.
How Is the Procedure Performed?
During the procedure, a small needle is inserted into your skin and is directed toward the nerve that is going to be treated. Your doctors will use a contrast material to help them identify the area where the injection will be given.
The actual injection will be administered using a common syringe, like the type you would see during a routine vaccination. The doctor will fill the syringe with a small amount of medication designed to treat the specific nerve that is causing you problems.
Your doctor will use fluoroscopy or CT scans to find the exact location for the injection.
How Soon Will I Feel Relief?
The medication will be injected as close to the pain causing nerve as possible. It will turn off the pain receptors inside the nerve causing the problem. For most patients, the effects of the injection are instant. It only takes a few seconds for the medication to provide pain relief.
Nerve blocks are temporary. In most patients, they will last for one to two weeks. As the nerve blocking agent is absorbed into your body, its benefits will slowly diminish.
Some patients need multiple rounds of nerve blocks before they have permanent relief. Other patients will only be able to use nerve blocks to relieve their pain enough so that they can engage in other pain management treatments such as physical therapy.
It only takes a few minutes to administer a nerve block. You may need multiple injections, depending on where your pain is being felt. Once the injections are finished, you will be able to rest for between 15 and 30 minutes. The medical professionals will check you over to make sure that you do not have any negative side effects before they let you leave the doctor’s office.
Does the Procedure Hurt?
During the procedure, you are going to feel a pinch as the needle is inserted. As soon as the medication is released, your discomfort will diminish. Since the needle needs to be inserted fairly deep into your body, you will feel some discomfort. This discomfort is temporary, and it is important that you stay still during the procedure.
The benefits of this procedure include:
- Temporary Pain Relief
- Temporary Reduction of Inflammation
- Improved Ability to Diagnose the Source of Pain
- Improved Mobility and Quality of Life
Risks from the procedure include:
- Infection
- Bleeding
- Medication Unexpectedly Spreading to Other Nerves
- Medication Delivered to the Bloodstream
How We Can Help
Dealing with chronic nerve pain is overwhelming. We want to help you manage and if at all possible remove your nerve pain. In order to accomplish this goal, when you come into our clinic, the first thing that we are going to do is listen to you. We want to hear about the struggles you have had with nerve pain. Once we have a full picture of how chronic nerve pain has been affecting your life, then we can work with you to create a treatment plan that is individually designed to meet your specific needs.
We know that there is no one-size-fits-all treatment for chronic pain. We never offer our clients a cookie-cutter treatment program, but instead, we work hard to create something that is specifically designed for them.
In the past, other medical professionals may have doubted the severity, intensity, or reality of your pain. You will never have this experience with us. We know that your pain is real, and we are committed to working with you to help you manage your pain.
We never give up on our clients. Contact us today, and let us show you how we can help you manage your pain in the short-term and in the long-term. After your initial consultation, you will leave our offices with a clear idea of the steps we plan to take as we work with you in creating a transparent and effective pain management treatment.