Nerve Blocks Specialist

What is a nerve block?

A nerve block eases your pain with an injection that contains a local anesthetic and may or may not include a steroid medication. Each medicine uses a different method to treat pain.

The anesthetic stops pain signals traveling through nerves. When a nerve is blocked, your brain doesn't get the message, and you don’t feel the pain. Steroids improve your pain by decreasing nerve inflammation.

When you get a nerve block, your provider targets peripheral nerves, including all the nerves outside your brain and spinal cord.

When would I need a nerve block?

The experienced physicians at Innovative Pain Specialists inject the medications at or on any single nerve or group of nerves. As a result, they can stop the pain signals generated by many different health conditions and injuries.

These are a few examples of peripheral nerves blocks and the type of pain they treat:

Occipital nerve block

The occipital nerves go up each side of your head. Blocking these nerves eases pain caused by occipital neuralgia, migraines, cluster headaches, and other chronic headaches.

Intercostal nerve block

Your intercostal nerves carry sensory information from your back, chest, and upper abdomen to your brain. Your provider may recommend an intercostal nerve block for pain caused by a surgical incision or conditions such as a rib fracture, herpes zoster, or post-herpetic neuralgia.

Trigeminal nerve block

The trigeminal nerves control sensations in your face, nostrils, lips, gums, and jaw. A trigeminal nerve block relieves the intense symptoms of facial pain syndromes.

Genicular nerve block

The genicular nerves carry pain signals from your knee to your brain. An injection in this area eases the pain caused by knee arthritis and injuries like meniscus and ligament tears.

What happens during a nerve block?

A peripheral nerve block is an office procedure done under local anesthesia. After cleaning the injection site, your provider identifies the targeted nerve using ultrasound. During your injection procedure, they use ultrasound or fluoroscopy (real-time X-rays) to guide the needle to the nerve.

Once the needle is in place, they inject the medicine, remove the needle, and apply a bandage. You go home shortly after your injection but return in two weeks to talk with your provider about the success of your nerve block. If you get significant relief, but it doesn't last long, you may be a candidate for long-term pain control with radiofrequency ablation.

To learn if a nerve block can help you get relief from the pain, call Innovative Pain Specialists or book an appointment online today.