Sympathetic Block

What is a Sympathetic Block?

The sympathetic nervous system controls all of your body’s involuntary reflexes and bodily functions, such as blood pressure, urination and defecation, sexual arousal, sweating, and others. It also controls the stress response, triggering a high alert when danger is perceived.

A sympathetic block is the injection of a local anesthetic into a sympathetic nerve, which can diagnose or treat pain disorders involving your sympathetic nervous system.

Why is a Sympathetic Block performed?

Pain originating from the sympathetic nervous system is not easy to treat with oral pain medications. Sympathetic blocks are an effective and beneficial treatment option. They help relieve some of the most challenging chronic pain conditions, including:

Sympathetic blocks can also act as a diagnostic tool to better determine treatment, especially in the upper back and neck.

After receiving a sympathetic block, you may experience complete pain relief, indicating that your pain is related to your sympathetic nervous system. There is also the possibility that the pain does not go away, indicating that pain signals were blocked, but since pain is still present, the sympathetic nervous system is not the source of the pain.

Sympathetic blocks are a minimally invasive treatment option for many people with chronic pain, whether used for pain relief or as a diagnostic tool. The best-case scenario is the rapid relief of symptoms, allowing patients to experience enough relief to resume their normal daily activities and physical therapy to treat the underlying condition.

How is a Sympathetic Block performed?

A sympathetic nerve block is an outpatient procedure using a local anesthetic to ensure your comfort. After the area is numbed, the doctor inserts a needle near the targeted nerves, using X-ray guidance to ensure proper needle placement. When the needle is in place, the doctor will inject an anesthetic and a corticosteroid into the space where the sympathetic nerves are located.

What should I expect after a Sympathetic Block?

Because there are few risks, sympathetic blocks are considered an appropriate and safe non-surgical treatment option for many chronic pain patients. Most complications are due to either improper needle placement or an adverse reaction to the injected medication.

These complications can include the following:

Infection

Bleeding

Collapsed lung (pneumothorax)

Nerve damage

Reaction to medication

Since the procedure is blocking sympathetic nerves, there may be some temporary side effects, such as eyelid drooping and stuffy nose, which will usually resolve within hours.

Recovery after a sympathetic block is usually easy and rapid. There may be some pain at the injection site that fades quickly. An ice pack or over-the-counter medications may be used as directed by your doctor.

Normal activity may be resumed as you are able.

There is a chance that you may not experience immediate pain relief. If pain remains high, or you experience signs of infection at the injection site (e.g., redness, swelling, fever), call your doctor.