If you live with the burning or tingling of neuropathy, you know how it disrupts daily life. Finding real relief can feel overwhelming.
At Delmarva Pain and Spine Center in Newark, DE, we understand your frustration. Double board-certified pain specialist Dr. Shachi Patel and our team offer personalized care to help you regain your quality of life.
Many patients ask us about interventional treatments like nerve blocks. Let's look at how these injections work and what the latest medical research says about them.
A nerve block is an injection that targets a specific nerve to temporarily stop pain signals. It bathes the nerve in a local anesthetic to quiet the overactive pathway.
However, its effectiveness depends heavily on the type of neuropathy you have. If your pain is widespread, a single block may not be the right fit.
A systematic review in Pain Physician found that evidence supporting sympathetic nerve blocks for widespread diabetic neuropathy is weak. This is because diabetic nerve damage is systemic and affects many tiny nerves at once. A targeted injection cannot easily reach all of these areas.
For localized nerve pain, however, a block can provide a helpful diagnostic and therapeutic window. We use these blocks as part of a broader, multimodal plan tailored to you.
If you do receive a nerve block, how it is performed matters immensely. Older techniques relied on landmarks or electrical stimulation to find the nerve.
But damaged nerves are highly sensitive. A clinical review in Medicine notes that nerves affected by diabetic neuropathy have a higher threshold for electrical stimulation. This means older stimulator techniques can accidentally cause physical needle damage before the nerve responds.
To protect your nerves, we use real-time ultrasound guidance for our injections. This allows us to see the needle and your nerve clearly, ensuring a safer and more precise procedure.
We also follow strict safety protocols. The ASRA infection control guidelines emphasize that strict infection control is mandatory to prevent complications from interventional pain procedures.
Many patients expect a steroid to be mixed into their nerve block. However, modern medical guidelines advise caution.
The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine advises against routinely adding corticosteroids to sympathetic nerve blocks. Steroids can cause dangerous spikes in blood sugar and disrupt your hormones. For diabetic patients, these metabolic risks often outweigh the potential benefits.
At our Newark, DE office, we prioritize your overall health. We carefully weigh these risks before recommending any injection ingredients.
We do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to pain. If a nerve block is not right for you, we offer several other advanced options.
For example, we provide spinal cord stimulation, which is highly recommended for lower extremity pain. We also offer innovative stem cell therapy to support your body's natural healing. Our goal is to build a comprehensive plan that targets the root cause of your discomfort.
You do not have to live with constant neuropathy pain. Let our experienced team help you find a path forward. To discuss your options, schedule a visit with us today.
