Living with chronic pain can be debilitating, affecting every aspect of your life. Many people suffer from pain in the head, neck and upper extremities from the shoulders to the hands. Fortunately, medical advancements offer various treatments to manage pain and improve your quality of life. One such treatment is a Stellate Ganglion block (SGB), a procedure that targets specific nerves to alleviate pain in the head, neck, and upper arm regions.
What is a Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB)?
A stellate ganglion block is a minimally invasive procedure used to diagnose and treat pain conditions in the head, neck, and upper extremities. The stellate ganglion is a cluster of nerves located at the front of the neck, near the seventh cervical vertebra. These nerves play a role in regulating blood flow and transmitting pain signals from the head, neck, and arms to the brain.
What are Pain Conditions Treated with Stellate Ganglion Block?
- Complex regional pain syndrome (affecting your upper limbs)
- Herpes zoster infection (shingles)
- Scleroderma
- Phantom limb pain
- Post-herpetic neuralgia
- Cluster headaches
- Migraine headaches
- Upper extremity vascular disease
- Chronic post-surgical pain
- Angina (chest pain) that doesn’t respond to other treatments
How is the SGB Procedure Performed?
A stellate ganglion block refers to injecting medication into the ganglion to stop nerve signals and alleviate pain. The combination of medications utilized includes an anesthetic to alleviate pain and steroid to reduce inflammation.
On the day of the procedure:
- You will be positioned comfortably on an examination table, lying on your back.
- The skin over your neck will be cleansed, and a local anesthetic will be applied to numb the area.
- Using fluoroscopy (a type of X-ray), Dr. Manvar will guide a thin needle to the stellate ganglion.
- Once the needle is in the correct position, a mixture of local anesthetic and steroid medication will be injected around the nerves.
The entire procedure usually takes around 2-3 minutes, and you may feel a warm sensation or mild discomfort during the injection.
What are the Benefits of SGB:
- Pain relief: Many patients experience significant pain relief following SGB, allowing them to resume daily activities with less discomfort.
- Improved function: By reducing pain and inflammation, SGB may improve range of motion and functional abilities in the affected area.
- Diagnostic tool: SGB can also serve as a diagnostic tool to help healthcare providers identify the source of your pain. If your pain improves after the injection, it suggests that the stellate ganglion is involved in transmitting your pain signals.
You may also notice improvement in your pain within a few days, although it can take up to two weeks to experience the full effects of the injection.
After the procedure, you may experience some soreness or numbness in the neck and arm on the side where the injection was administered. This is normal and should resolve within a few hours. You may be recommended a course of physical therapy or other treatments to complement the effects of SGB. If you are suffering from chronic pain and want to consider SGB to improve your quality of life and functional abilities give us a call at (704) 317-1440 to determine if it’s right for you.
