Nerve Block Injections

A nerve block is an injection to decrease inflammation and interrupt how pain signals are sent to your brain.

Nerve blocks may be used for several purposes, such as:

• To determine the source of pain.
• To treat painful conditions.
• To predict how pain will respond to long-term treatments.
• For short-term pain relief after some surgeries and other procedures.

Patients who suffer from either acute or chronic pain might have a nerve block injection for temporary pain relief. Often, such pain originates in the spine, but other areas commonly affected include the neck, arms and legs. A nerve block injection usually gives a damaged nerve time to heal itself from constant irritation. In addition to that, nerve blocks can provide diagnostic information to the neurologist. By monitoring how a patient responds to the injection, a doctor can often use this information to help determine the cause or source of the pain as well as prescribe further treatment.

This procedure requires little to no special preparation.