Nerve Blocks

Nerve blocks are injections that are put into the CRPS affected limb or extremity and are done usually by a pain specialist. They are used if other treatments for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, such as NSAIDs or physiotherapy, have been unsuccessful. Some patients with CRPS or chronic pain say that these blocks can give them some temporary relief from their pain and other symptoms they may have connected to CRPS or other chronic pain conditions.

Nerve blocks include:

• REGIONAL / PERIPHERAL NERVE BLOCKS (Dadure, C. et al. 2005)
• STELLATE GANGLION BLOCKS (Wei, K. et al. 2014)
• SPINAL/LUMBAR BLOCKS or sometimes called SYMPATHETIC NERVE / GANGLION BLOCKS – Injections containing some form of anaesthetic drug, e.g. Clonidine or Baclofen and are inserted immediately next to the patients' spine. They usually give a good improvement to the flow of blood.
• BOTULINUM TOXIN INJECTIONS (BOTOX)
• EPIDURALS – This tends to be done at the early onset of the condition as studies have shown both injection form and also a temporary or semi-permanent epidural where you remain in hospital and you would be numb from the waist downwards.

(Forouzanfar, T. et al. 2002)

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