What is a nerve block?

[FBKobra]

I have this silly question, but could not find asingle and simple answer anywhere. A friend of mine, who injured hisshoulder, has gone to his physician, who recommended him to get anerve block done. What is that, and how it works – does any bodyknow?

 

[Rhage13]

It's an injection of a lidocaine cortisone mix at the pain point. It numbs the pain in that area for several weeks but it's just a "bandaid", it doesn't actually fix the problem. And if his lifting, I wouldn't recommend getting it done unless he stops lifting until the injection wears off. It gives you a sense of confidence that since it doesn't hurt, you can still lift. Nope, you'll just hurt it worse.

 

[Lev Butlerov]

@rhage13 got it on point here. The nerve blocks can be a good thing when you need to relieve pain in a quick manner, but this should not be regarded as a solution to a problem. What's more, in a way it is a dangerous thing to do, as it may cover up the pain, which is an indicator of something going wrong, and you can get your injury even worse. All in all, it should be used adequately.

 

[stevesmi]

it is totally a bandaid and retarded advice by that doc

tell your friend to go to a real doctor.. a sports medicine doctor. sounds like he has a rotator cuff injury and should be getting physical therapy done

 

[atronx]

My GF is a nurse for a SM doc. They do these and then recommend rest and PT on the impacted joint usually followed by surgery to fix the real issue. I get tennis elbow on both sides from my work pretty frequently and they inject me. I also need surgery but am putting it off until I reach some goals. so this just gets me by until then. It is not a long term solution for recurring issues. Usually, hurts worse following day and then feels like a million bucks for a few weeks.

 

[muskate]

Nerve block - A procedure in which an anesthetic agent is injected directly near a nerve to block pain. A nerve block is a form of regional anesthesia

It's basically just a procedure to kill the pain. It won't fix the route cause of the problem.

 

[MasonicBodybuilder]

My GF is a nurse for a SM doc. They do these and then recommend rest and PT on the impacted joint usually followed by surgery to fix the real issue. I get tennis elbow on both sides from my work pretty frequently and they inject me. I also need surgery but am putting it off until I reach some goals. so this just gets me by until then. It is not a long term solution for recurring issues. Usually, hurts worse following day and then feels like a million bucks for a few weeks.

Thanks for sharing your personal knowledge and experience.