If you suffer from chronic neck pain, you know that finding relief isn't easy. In fact, finding the source of neck pain is incredibly challenging. This is why many doctors rarely diagnose the specific source of neck pain with high confidence — there are too many possible causes, and too many of them are poorly understood.
One possible source of your pain are the knuckle-like facet joints. Each vertebra has a pair of these facet joints, and they often pop or slide in place. This can cause considerable neck pain. But it's also hard to pinpoint and diagnose. And, of course, this is only one potential source of your chronic pain.
That's why it's usually not recommended that you pursue surgical procedures as your primary source of relieving chronic neck pain. Surgeries address very specific areas of your body and may leave you with the same chronic pain you were experiencing before surgery.
And sometimes surgery leaves you worse for wear.
Here at Southern Pain and Neurological of Greater New Orleans, we often treat our patients suffering from chronic neck pain with nerve blocks. This procedure is far less invasive than surgery, and offers incredible results.
Here's why.
During any procedure, we locate the exact source of the patient's pain. That way we can provide treatment to that affected nerve area. When we do locate the affected region, we apply nerve blocks (an anesthetic) that stop the brain from every receiving pain messages. In essence, pain lessens or even ceases because the brain, and the affected nerves, are no longer communicating the way they had.
A nerve block has many benefits, including:
- Allowing a damaged nerve time to heal
- Providing temporary pain relief
- Helping to identify a more specific cause of pain (so that we can then provide long-lasting chronic pain relief)
And the best part is, this procedure requires little to no special preparation or postoperative healing. This is an outpatient procedure that delivers results. Fast. Unlike surgery, there are no permanent changes made to your body, and you can stop treatment anytime you wish.
Following your procedure, our team will follow up with you to see how you are doing and determine if further action (such as more injections) is required.
Compared to surgery, nerve blocks are far more pleasant to experience and don't come with the same health risks.
If you suffer from chronic neck pain, surgery isn't your only option. It's often not even your best option. Schedule a consultation with our team to learn more about nerve blocks for chronic neck pain. We have offices in Marrero, Metairie, and Covington, LA.