as interventional pain physicians we use
nerve blocks to both diagnose and treat sources of pain the source of pain may be
from joints or from the nerves themselves often times nerve blocks are guided with
some kind of image guidance either ultrasound or an x-ray machine during a nerve block a needle
is placed next to the nerve and an injection of numbing medication and sometimes steroid is
undertaken the response to that injection may tell us the source of the pain as well as
possible treatments for that type of pain in the future usually when a patient has a nerve
block we have you keep track of your pain for the rest of that day an understanding of how your
pain responds to the nerve block may guide us in future treatment options depending on the specific
type of nerve block you may or may not have some temporary muscle weakness this can be expected
and would be discussed with you by your physician prior to the nerve block if this is the case we
ask that you take care for the rest of that day and be careful while those muscles are weak muscle
function should return to normal within 12 to 24 hours as with all procedures there are risks with
nerve blocks usually these risks are confined to bleeding infection and nerve damage use of
image guidance and strict aseptic technique can decrease the risk of infection bleeding
and nerve damage your physician may discuss changes to your normal medications such as
blood thinners prior to your nerve block