Nerve Block Injections

What Is a Nerve Block Injection?

A nerve block injection delivers a local anesthetic (a numbing medication) near the nerve that is causing your pain. In some cases, an anti-inflammatory medication (steroid) is added as well.

Something important to understand from the start:

A nerve block injection is a "pain-relieving treatment," not a "disease-curing treatment."

The narrowing of the spinal canal itself does not change. Even when the injection makes your pain better, the relief typically lasts weeks to a few months before it begins to fade.

The 2021 Clinical Practice Guidelines from the Japanese Orthopaedic Association evaluate nerve block injections as follows:

• Useful for short-term pain relief and quality-of-life improvement (Strength 2, Evidence A)
• However, the research confirming effectiveness covers mainly 1-2 weeks of short-term benefit
• Long-term effectiveness has not been sufficiently proven at this time