Blocks to treat Pain
Peripheral Nerve Block
A “nerve block” is a technique of injecting numbing medicine (also called local anesthetic) around a group of nerves. This causes a specific area of the body to be numb. Nerve blocks have become an important therapy in the treatment of certain types of acute and chronic pain, particularly where management with medications is unsuccessful. With nerve blocks, medication consisting of an anesthetic and a steroid is injected directly onto a nerve to reduce inflammation and block the transmission of pain signals to the brain.
Femoral Nerve Block
This outpatient procedure numbs the leg with an injection of local anesthetic. Typically, it is used before or after surgery on the thigh or knee.
Sciatic Nerve Block
This procedure is an injection of anesthesia (or an anesthetic/steroid mixture) around the sciatic nerve. It can be used to block the pain of surgery on the knee, leg ankle or foot, or it can be used to manage the pain of chronic issues in the lower extremity.
Radial Nerve Block
This outpatient procedure numbs the hand with an injection of local anesthetic. Typically, it is used for surgery on the hand or fingers.
Suprascapular Nerve Block
This outpatient procedure is used to treat pain and discomfort from arthritis, bursitis or impingement of the suprascapular nerve in the shoulder joint. The suprascapular nerve is a major motor nerve that serves the muscles of the shoulder.
Ilioinguinal Nerve Block
This non-operative, outpatient procedure is designed to provide relief for patients with hip and lower abdominal pain. The technique allows the physician to inject an inflammation-reducing steroid around the ilioinguinal nerve with maximum accuracy.
Popliteal Fossa Block
This outpatient procedure numbs the lower leg with an injection of local anesthesia. Typically, it is used for surgery on the lower leg, ankle and foot.
Sympathetic block
The location of your pain usually determines where you’ll receive the nerve block. Your sympathetic nerves come together outside your spine and pelvis area in thick networks of nerves called ganglions. If you have pain in the upper part of your body, you may get pain relief from blocking a ganglion in the upper thoracic spine.If you have pain in the lower part of your body, a ganglion near the lower spine may be targeted with a lumbar sympathetic block.
Sphenopalatine Block
SPG blocks achieve neuromodulation of the sphenopalatine ganglion complex. This means that the time-tested efficacy of the procedure has been shown to have both immediate and sustained results. These effects are typically sustained by interrupting the chaotic signaling associated with migraine.
Brachial Plexus Block
This procedure is an injection of anesthesia (or an anesthetic/steroid mixture) around the brachial plexus, a network of nerve fibers that travels from the spine to the arm. This procedure can be used to block the pain of surgery on the shoulder, arm or hand, or it can be used to manage the pain of chronic issues such as arthritis.
Interscalene Brachial Plexus Block
This outpatient procedure numbs the shoulder and arm with an injection of local anesthetic. Typically, it is used before or after surgery on the shoulder.
Medial Branch Block
A diagnostic block used to confirm when the source of pain suspected tobe from the small joints along both sides of the spinal column called facet joints. A small amount of anesthetic is injected to target a branch of the nerves that perceive pain from the suspected joints. A post procedure exam is performed immediately following the procedure, to evaluate if the patient’s usual pain has decreased. If the patient has a significant reduction in usual pain, it is considered a positive block, confirming facet mediated pain. Because the anesthetic agent is temporary, the benefits are expected to last only several hours, then usual pain will slowly return. This is a diagnostic test to confirm that the facet joints are a significant component of the patient’s usual pain. Treatment, radiofrequency ablation, to cauterize the same nerves will be considered.
Thoracic Medial Branch Blocks
Unfortunately, simple joint injections and/or other treatments have not provided you with adequate pain relief. Therefore, you may benefit from having the small medial branch nerves and their pain signals interrupted via a controlled non-surgical heat lesion produced by a special needle. Before interrupting these nerves and their pain signals we first block the medial branch nerve signals with numbing medicine as a test. This tells us whether or not you are likely to benefit from having the medial branch nerves interrupted at a later date by the special radio-frequency (RF) needle.