One of the main pain relief methods that many of our courses teach is a nerve block injection. However, a nerve block injection is a broad term that encompasses several ways to prevent and reduce pain throughout the body. Maverick Medical Education teaches many of these injections as we train others to provide the best pain relief for those in their practices around the country.

What is a nerve block injection?

Some nerves travel throughout our body as pathways for messages between our brain and every muscle and system in us. These pathways transmit conscious and instinctual instructions that allow us to breathe, digest, walk, run, or any other part of our lives, in addition to telling us when to pull our hand away if something is hurting us or when part of our body isn’t feeling well. Since these nerves transmit information like pain, they can help keep us alive and safe. If we are experiencing chronic pain, these nerves can work overtime. By using an imagery-guided needle and injecting an anesthetic into areas around these nerves, we can temporarily disrupt the feelings of pain and the transmission of that information to our brain.

How can it help?

For starters, the nerve block injection will reduce the feelings of pain with the anesthetic around the area. In addition, because of frequent swelling in joints, muscles, and other areas experiencing pain or trauma, anti-inflammatory measures can happen. A nerve block can be injected into many different bodily areas and target specific areas without impacting the entire body, as a narcotic might. Nerve block injections can also be used for other issues people might be having, like TMJ or digestive issues.

What are the precautions?

After administering the nerve block injection, there will be a temporary amount of pain as the needle is inserted into the body. Additionally, there may be some light bruising around the injection site and a bit of warmth or discomfort. Targeting the wrong cluster of nerves, the result of not using ultrasound guidance, may result in less pain relief. According to Radiologyinfo.com, there are times when “the doctor must insert the needle deep to reach the nerve causing your problem”, which could cause slight pain while approaching the specific nerve. Additionally, every person is different, so some patients may feel less relief than others and the duration of felt pain relief varies from person to person.

Maverick Medical Education can begin teaching you pain relief methods, such as nerve block injections, as soon as you sign up for a course. Our flipped classroom model provides online accessible learning at your fingertips as you prepare for the lab portion of our course. If you want to begin or advance your knowledge of nerve blocks or other pain relief, contact us today.