What are peripheral nerve injections?
Peripheral nerve injections contain steroid medication and a local anesthetic. They can help relieve pain and inflammation that's not treatable using more conservative measures.
Dr. Carlson can deliver peripheral nerve injections to your:
- Sciatic nerve
- Femoral nerve
- Suprascapular nerve
- Median nerve
- Dorsal scapular nerve
- Spinal accessory nerve
- Genicular nerves of the knee
- Ilioinguinal nerve
- Intercostal nerve
- Greater and lesser occipital nerves
- Sphenopalatine ganglion
- Trigeminal ganglion branches
- Cervical plexus
- Brachial plexus
Peripheral nerve injections can relieve or reduce nerve pain in your back, arms, legs, neck, trunk, or face.
What conditions can peripheral nerve injections treat?
Dr. Carlson uses peripheral nerve injections to treat a variety of conditions, including:
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome affects your median nerve, which extends from your shoulder to the thumb side of your hand. When the nerve goes through the carpal tunnel in your wrist, it sometimes comes under pressure from a group of bones and ligaments, resulting in pain, weakness, and loss of function.
Sciatica
The sciatic nerve in your lumbar (lower) spine is a large nerve that branches into two and travels down each leg. Pressure on the sciatic nerve causes lower back pain and severe, shooting pain down one leg.
Trigeminal and occipital neuralgia
The trigeminal and occipital nerves serve your head and face. If they malfunction, it can cause neuralgia — an intense, disabling facial pain.
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
CRPS typically develops following an injury or damage to a limb. It causes progressively worsening pain that can be difficult to manage.
Peripheral nerve injections can also treat chronic degenerative conditions like arthritis.
What happens when I have a peripheral nerve injection?
The injection procedure requires Dr. Carlson to locate the nerve and inject the medication directly into the surrounding tissue. He uses ultrasound technology to ensure he targets the nerve with the utmost accuracy.
You may feel some discomfort or tingling before the anesthetic that’s included in the peripheral nerve injection takes effect.
The area soon becomes numb, offering complete but temporary pain relief. When the anesthetic wears off, the pain may return, but the steroid medication reduces the inflammation and relieves pain over many months in some cases.
Find out whether your pain condition could benefit from peripheral nerve injections by calling Hawai'i Pain & Spine today, or you can book an appointment online.
