Permanent nerve blocks involve cutting or damaging certain parts of a nerve so pain signals cease.
Nerve blocks can also treat chronic neuropathic pain such as pain brought on by nerve damage or compression.
They are regularly used to treat back and neck pain due to herniated discs or spinal stenosis.
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These options are only used for severe pain that has not gotten better using other treatments.
Anepiduralis a local nerve block that works by injecting steroids oranalgesicsinto the area around the spinal cord.
They are sometimes used to treat ongoing pain from chronic pancreatitis and pain in the chest wall after surgery.
Asurgical nerve blockis done by a neurosurgeon.
It involves surgically removing or selectively damaging certain areas of the nerve.
The pain does not always return.
If it does, it may not be for months or years after the nerve block was done.
Common side effects of nerve blocks include muscle paralysis, weakness, or lasting numbness.
In rare cases, nerve blocks may actually irritate the nerve more and cause more pain.
You may notice some redness or irritation near the area where the needle was.
This is usually not permanent and should get better with time.
Depending on how the surgery went, you may have to spend a few days recovering in the hospital.
Some nerve blocks can also cause swelling, which compresses the nerve and requires time to get better.
Summary
A nerve block is a way to temporarily or permanently treat pain.
They use chemicals or numbing medications to interrupt nerve signals and relieve pain.
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