Nerve Blocks Specialist

What are nerve blocks?

Nerve blocks are injections containing medication that can help in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of pain.

There are nerves all over your body, branching out from your spinal cord and connecting back to your brain. When you feel pain, it’s because your nerves are telling your brain that you’re injured.

Nerve blocks act on the nerves that send pain signals back to your brain. The medication in the nerve block prevents these signals from reaching your brain.

What types of nerve blocks are there?

There are different nerve blocks for each major nerve group; for example, a trigeminal nerve block affects a nerve in your face that’s associated with headaches and migraines.

Other nerve blocks used for headaches and head pain include:

• Supraorbital (above the eye)
• Infraorbital (below the eye)
• Auriculotemporal (temples)
• Sphenopalatine ganglion (nose and palate)
• Greater occipital (back of the head)
• Lesser occipital (behind the ear)
• Maxillary nerve block (upper jaw)

Your provider can explain at your consultation why they’re recommending a particular type of nerve block and how it works.

What conditions are nerve blocks used to treat?

The team at PANDA Neurology & Atlanta Headache Specialists uses nerve blocks to treat a range of headaches and other painful head conditions, including:

• Migraine
• Chronic daily headaches
• Analgesic rebound headaches
• Tension headaches
• Cluster headaches
• Temporomandibular disorders
• Trigeminal and other facial neuralgias
• Myofascial pain

At PANDA Neurology & Atlanta Headache Specialists the team uses a combination of topical anesthetics such as lidocaine and bupivacaine in their nerve block injections. Pain relief lasts an average of between six and eight weeks, with some patients needing further treatments at four to eight-week intervals.

What is the nerve block procedure like?

The nerve block procedure is safe and generally well-tolerated. A member of the PANDA Neurology & Atlanta Headache Specialists team administers your nerve block injection in the office. Some patients find the injections a little uncomfortable, but any discomfort should be brief.

After the nerve block procedure, you’re likely to feel numb where the injection took place for the rest of the day. You can return to normal activities soon after the injection, so you may drive and go back to work or school.

If you think nerve blocks could help with your pain condition, call PANDA Neurology & Atlanta Headache Specialists today, or book an appointment online.