How Nerve Blocks Can Help with Your Chronic Pain

If you are one of the millions of Americans who live with chronic pain, you understand the toll it can take on your enjoyment of life and ability to work. That pain can be a significant source of anxiety and depression – even during periods of remission when worries over flareups can dominate a person’s thoughts.

Coping with this ever-present pain often requires lifestyle changes, physical therapy, medications and, possibly, surgery.

Your doctor also may suggest a nerve block. These treatments can be an effective way to manage pain that hasn’t responded to medications or other more conservative options. In some instances, nerve blocks can also be used as a diagnostic tool to assess whether a surgical option would succeed.

How a Nerve Block Works

To better understand how a nerve block works, consider how your nervous system carries signals between your various body parts and your brain. Inside of you is a vast network of wire-like nerves that are used to tell your brain what you are sensing, including touch, heat, cold and pain.

In a perfect world, feelings of pain would go away as soon as the source has been dealt with. But for some people, that pain sensation never shuts off. This can result in a debilitating sensation that saps the joy out of life. The pain can take many forms, including:

• Stinging
• Dull aching
• Burning
• Shooting
• Throbbing

A nerve block seeks to stop the cycle by essentially shutting down the line of communication between your brain and the part of your body that’s sending those pain signals.

The procedure identifies the troublesome nerve or group of nerves, using advanced imaging – including X-rays or ultrasound. Then your doctor injects a cocktail of medication close to those nerves. The injection generally includes a combination of numbing and anti-inflammatory agents.

What Do Nerve Blocks Treat?

Nerve blocks can be used for a wide range of conditions involving nerves that have become damaged, irritated or inflamed. Among their uses:

Therapeutic: They are commonly used for relief from chronic pain in the neck and mid or lower back. Blocks may also help with pain to your extremities – including your arms, legs or buttocks. Essentially, if your doctor can identify the nerve that is giving you trouble, that nerve can be blocked – as long it wouldn’t be detrimental to other important bodily functions and your health. The procedure can reduce inflammation and give your nerves time to heal.

Anesthetic: Before or after a surgery, your doctor can use a nerve block to help manage the pain related to the procedure. This may be done in addition to general anesthesia. Or in the case of minor procedures, it may be a substitute for general anesthesia.

Diagnostic: Blocks can be used to help identify the nerve responsible for your chronic pain, which can be challenging to diagnose. Using a nerve block on a suspected nerve or bundle of nerves can verify those suspicions. If the block doesn’t ease the pain, it is likely to be coming from elsewhere. This can also be helpful in deciding whether to proceed with some advanced procedures that can permanently shut off a nerve.

How Effective Are They?

If your doctor can pinpoint the source of your discomfort, nerve blocks can be extremely effective at eliminating or reducing pain. The duration of that relief is difficult to determine beforehand and varies from person to person.

You may get immediate relief from one injection. Or you may need multiple injections to quiet the nerve. Even then, there is no guarantee how long the treatment will last. On the short end, it may only last for a few days. On the other hand, some people experience relief for months, or even years. The treatments can be repeated as needed.