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Nerve block for pain relief
A nerve block relieves pain by interrupting how pain signals are sent to your brain. It is done by injecting a substance, such as alcohol or phenol, into or around a nerve or into the spine.
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.
- For anesthesia during some smaller procedures, such as finger surgery.
Nerve blocks are used to treat chronic pain when drugs or other treatments do not control pain or cause bad side effects. A test block is usually performed with local anesthetic. If you achieve good pain relief from the local anesthetic, your doctor may inject a nerve block, such as alcohol or phenol.
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: October 30, 2009 |
| Medical Review: | E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Michael Seth Rabin, MD - Medical Oncology | |
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