Selective Nerve Root Blocks
Irritated nerves can cause significant pain and discomfort. Nerve roots are attached to the spinal cord, and one exits each side of the spine at each vertebrae. These nerves are the communicators in our bodies, carrying signals throughout the body to and from the brain, muscles, and skin. A nerve root can become irritated or compressed from a damaged disc or from contact with a bone spur. Symptoms may include pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness. We have tools to help determine the cause of the pain and also to help alleviate the discomfort.
Determining Which Nerves are Causing Pain
The area of the body where you are experiencing symptoms points to where the nerves are inflamed. Nerve irritation in the neck (cervical spine) can cause symptoms in the neck, arm or shoulder. Nerve irritation in the upper and mid back (thoracic spine) can produce upper back pain or pain along the ribs and chest wall. Irritation in the lower back (lumbar spine) can produce symptoms in the lower back, hip, buttock, or legs.
Diagnosing & Treating Pain with a Selective Nerve Root Block
One of the tools in our toolbox for treating pain is the Selective Nerve Root Block (SNRB). Nerve root blocks are a minimally invasive procedure used to diagnose and treat spinal nerve pain. They involve injecting a combination of anesthetic and steroids near the affected nerve root to reduce inflammation and block pain signals. These procedures can be performed for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
These are very similar to Epidural Steroid Injections (ESIs). Like ESIs, the medication used includes a steroid to decrease inflammation and an anesthetic to numb the area. However, ESIs and SNRBs are a little bit different. The purpose of an ESI is to inject medication to treat all the nerve roots in a certain area, while a Selective Nerve Root Block is to numb just one or two spinal nerves.
For SNRBs, we administer the injection under the vision of an X-ray machine so we can be sure the injection enters the site exactly where we want it to enter. We use SNRBs for two reasons: diagnostic or therapeutic. For the diagnostic block, enough medication is utilized to numb one root to determine if that root is causing the patient’s pain and discomfort. If the pain subsides after the injection, the pain generator is presumed to have been identified. We use a larger volume of the medications to treat the irritated nerve for a therapeutic block.
Request a Consult for a Selective Nerve Root Block in Newport News, VA
If you are interested in learning more about Selective Nerve Root Block treatment and whether it may be the right option for you, we encourage you to make an appointment with one of our Interventional Pain Management Specialists. To schedule a consultation for Selective Nerve Root Block treatment in Newport News, VA, please call Orthopaedic & Spine Center at 757-596-1900 or request an appointment online.