What is an epidural pain block? A pain block is an injection of a mixture of a local anesthetic  medication and a strong anti-inflammatory medication at a specific site in an attempt to control inflammation and pain. Epidural block procedures involve placing a small needle into the area of your spine where your pain is located. Tens of thousands of these procedures have been performed by pain management specialists and they are very safe and effective procedure for diminishing pain.

Why do I need a pain block?
There are basically two reasons for pain blocks: diagnostic and therapeutic. Diagnostic blocks are given to try and establish exactly what is causing your pain symptoms. This is commonly known as finding the 'pain generator'. In therapeutic blocks, corticosteroid is injected to reduce the inflammation at the source of the problem which is producing your symptoms.

What are there different types of blocks?
There are many different types of  pain blocks and many different pain management techniques, here is a list of some of the most common ones:

Cervical, thoracic, lumbar, or caudal epidural block — These blocks all involve placing the nerve block medications into the epidural space, the space between the bony spinal canal, the spinal discs and spinal cord or nerve sac. The names: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and caudal, simply refer to the specific region of the spine where the block is placed.

Selective nerve root block — Selective nerve root blocks involve placing the medication on the nerve root at the point where the nerve exits your bony spinal canal through a tunnel known as a neuroforamen. There are two neuroforamen (left and right) at each spinal level.

Facet joint block — Facet joint blocks involve placing the medication into the small posterior joints adjacent to your spinal canal, called the zygoapophyseal, or facet joints. There are two facets (left and right) at each spinal level.

Sympathetic block — Sympathetic blocks involve placing the medication into the sympathetic nerve plexus, which are the nerve centers for specific types of pain impulses and lie immediately adjacent to your spine.

Sacroiliac joint block — These involve placing the medication into your sacroiliac joint on either the left or right and are used for sacroiliac pain syndromes.

Costovertebral joint block — These involve placing the medication into the small joints where your ribs meet your spine and are used to treat various rib dysfunction syndromes. There are two costovertebral joints(left and right) at each thoracic spinal level.

The pain management doctors of Atlas Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine of Manhattan, New York and Millburn, New Jersey would be happy to see you for a consultation and help you learn about epidural injectionsd other nerve block pain treatments.