Sympathetic Blocks
What is a Lumbar Sympathetic Block?
At the offices of Pain & Spine Physicians, you can expect the best personalized care possible with treatment plans developed for individuals and not ailments. Patients all experience pain differently and need this kind of attention to get relief. When you schedule your appointment for lower back pain, neuropathy or CRPS, we may suggest a lumbar sympathetic block to help us find the cause for your irritation. This test blocks the sympathetic nerves that control bodily functions, such as sweating, heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion.
You can find this nerve along each side of your spine, which is where the injection takes place. These nerves can potentially be held responsible for sending pain signals even after your injury has fully healed and caused issues like chronic regional pain syndrome (CRPS). We aim to stop this and other issues from causing pain in your lower back and legs. If you need help finding out where your pain is coming from or if you have been diagnosed previously with CRPS, please schedule your initial consultation today with Pain & Spine Physicians in the DFW Metroplex. We help them all from our medical offices located in Richmond, McKinney, Frisco, Southlake, and Flower Mound.
The Ideal Candidate to Receive a Lumbar Sympathetic Block
If you have diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome or reflex sympathetic dystrophy, make sure you inform our medical team of this in your initial consultation to help us determine if you are the ideal candidate for a lumbar sympathetic block. Also, if you are experiencing pain in your lower back or legs and aren’t sure of where it is coming from, this test helps us discover its origin to get you on the proper treatment plan. There is a very low risk of complication with this procedure, but because of the drugs used, it is also wise to ensure you make your physician fully aware of your allergies to ensure your candidacy. We can also complete this procedure with or without putting to sleep, which is something to consider before signing up the lumbar sympathetic block. Patients who cannot accept this form of treatment are currently experiencing the common cold, flu, very high blood pressure, active infection, or are using blood thinners.
How Pain & Spine Physicians Perform a Sympathetic Block
We begin every procedure with a consultation to get all the general information required to ensure you and your pain are the right candidates to receive the treatment. Once we have worked together to develop your personalized treatment plan, we will offer to give medication to help you relax throughout the procedure. Afterward, you will lay on your stomach atop an x-ray table. Your doctor will clean your back and apply an antiseptic to numb the area we inject the needle. Guided by the x-ray, your doctor will insert the needle, inject a dye to confirm the medication will reach the correct are in your spine, and finally inject the medicine.
After Treatment Care for Your Back Procedure
Once we finish the process and you are waking up from your sedation, you should have someone else drive you home. You will feel groggy from the anesthetic and other medicines used and will need some time to recover properly. We suggest taking the rest of the day off and potentially the next as well, depending on how the area is feeling. If you are still sore, you should stay home to ice and inspect the insertion area for swelling and bruising. We can discuss your symptoms over the phone to ensure you are ready to get back to your regular routine. We will also talk about your next schedule injection and how many will be required so you can plan accordingly in your home and with your job.
What a Lumbar Sympathetic Block Can Treat
Some patients experience relief immediately after they receive the shot, but most report more extended relief two to three days after their treatment. The steroid needs some time to work, so the immediate feeling may be due to the anesthetic used before inserting the needle. Blocking this nervous system helps liberate you from many different pain disorders. It is not a cure, but it will help you live a pain-free life for periods at a time.
Below are some examples of pain issues we treat with lumbar sympathetic blocks:
- Vascular insufficiency
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
- Complex regional pain syndrome
- Herpes zoster infection involving the legs
Call Pain & Spine Physicians Today for Treatments
When you are ready to ease your pain and get the relief needed to get back to life’s daily activities, please give Pain & Spine Physicians a call to receive a lumbar sympathetic block to alleviate the pain in your lower back. The number of treatments will depend on the severity of your pain and other symptoms. Reach out to any of our North Texas board-certified award-winning in Richmond, McKinney, Frisco, Southlake, and Flower Mound. Don’t suffer through lower back pain alone.