What are celiac plexus blocks? This type of block is typically reserved for cancer patients experiencing abdominal pain. A posterior approach is used to infuse anesthetic into the celiac plexus. The blocks are intended for diagnostic reasons only. A therapeutic procedure could also be performed, injecting various medications from clonidine to steroid. Risks of this …
What are Sympathetic nerve blocks? Sympathetic nerve blocks are often performed for patients who present with pain in the limbs related to sympathetic mediated pain, an example being complex regional pain syndrome type I. These injections target the sympathetic chain. A positive injection will cause a temperature increase in the limb by 2°C, a decrease …
What are sacroiliac joint injections? Sacroiliac joints are diarthrodial joints made up of synovial fluid. The bony wall of the sacrum is made up of hyaline cartilage, although the pelvic side is lined by fibrocartilage. These injections are relatively safe, so long as the needle does not advance beyond the anterior wall of the sacrum …
What are facet joint injections? Glucocorticoids or steroids have been injected in spinal facet or zygapophyseal joints for joint related arthritis of the spine. These joints are diarthrodial joints covered by synovial lining, and whose bony interior is covered by hyaline cartilage. Although there is less supportive literature backing the effectiveness of injecting facet joints, …
What are epidural steroid injections? This type of injection involves injecting glucocorticoids into the epidural space in order to administer antiinflammatory relief to the spine. The objective of this injection is to decrease inflamed nerves that may contribute to pain in conditions of radiculopathy, radiculitis, or spinal stenosis with back pain with neurogenic claudication. Some …
Spinal Nerve Blocks Nerve blocks can be performed for regional anesthesia, but also executed for pain management purposes. Common sites for nerve blocks are at the levels of the cervical and lumbar spine. These procedures can be performed in the thoracic spine, but these injections are less often performed, as nerve injury to the thoracic …
Peripheral Nerve Blocks Before one can discuss the role of peripheral nerve blocks in the management of pain syndromes, one must address the question of the role of the peripheral nerve block. A block could potentially be therapeutic, but more often than not may be diagnostic. Instances where nerve blocks may be of diagnostic utility …