A Cervical (Stemtellaue) Sympathetic Plexus Nerve Block Injection Can Help Us Diagnose Your Neck Pain. If you are experiencing pain in your neck, shoulders, or arms, our spinal doctors may recommend a cervical sympathetic nerve block injection as a means of pinpointing from where your pain is originating.

A sympathetic nerve block is believed by many pain health care providers to be an effective method for controlling chronic pain.  However, there is not a great deal of medical evidence to show whether these blocks are actually helpful. This therapy targets the sympathetic nervous system, a series of nerves that spread out from your spine to your body to help control several involuntary body functions, or body functions that you have no control over. These include blood flow, digestion, and sweating.

Nerve blocks, or “naturalized blockades”, are procedures that can help prevent or manage many different types of pain. They are often injections of medicines that block pain from specific nerves. They can be used for pain relief as well as total loss of feeling if needed for surgery.

Nerve block or “regional nerve blockade” is any intentional interruption of signals traveling along a nerve, often to help people feel no pain during and after a surgery. And, sometimes, you will feel numb for a day or two.

When can a nerve block be used?

A sympathetic nerve block can be used to diagnose or treat pain involving the nerves of the sympathetic nervous system. Examples of conditions for which a sympathetic nerve block might be used include:

  • Pain from spasms in the blood vessels
  • Complex regional pain syndrome, previously called reflex sympathetic dystrophy and causalgia
  • Raynaud’s syndrome
  • Some types of chronic stomach pain
  • Excessive sweating

Sympathetic nerve block procedure

The location of your pain usually determines where you’ll receive the nerve block. Your sympathetic nerves come together outside your spine area in thick networks of nerves called ganglions. If you have pain in the upper part of your body, you may get pain relief from blocking the stellate ganglion in your neck area. If you have pain in the lower part of your body, a ganglion near the lower spine may be targeted with a lumbar sympathetic block.