See our Stellate Ganglion Block Resource Library below

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Treatable Conditions

• PTSD/Anxiety

• Long Covid

• Post Concussion Syndrome 

• Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy

• Causalgia

• Regional Pain Syndrome

• Phantom Limb Pain

• Upper-Body Shingles

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Overview 

Our Sympathetic Nervous System organizes, processes, and sends messages from the brain to the rest of the body in response to stress, known as the ‘fight or flight response’. Sympathetic Nervous System overactivity plays a role in pain conditions that affect the head, neck, chest and arms. Stellate Ganglion Block Therapy is a form of therapy to diagnose and treat nerve problems, relieve pain, and increase blood circulation. This therapeutic approach is quick and safe, and can be performed regularly on an outpatient basis

 

How It Works

The Stellate Ganglion Block procedure involves using a guided x-ray or ultrasound procedure to administer a local anesthetic medication to block and normalize the activity in the sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system which has become hyperactive. This relaxes the patient by reducing and inhibiting the production of norepinephrine-activating pain-sensitive nerves.

 

What to Expect

The overall procedure is about 5 minutes with a 30-minute recovery. The procedure is performed under local anesthetic using a thin needle. Patients are discharged same-day once cleared from observation typically with an immediate relief.

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Safety

The stellate ganglion block is very safe and has a minimal risk of bruising.

 

Efficacy

The efficacy of the procedure varies among patients and the indication for treatment. Patients can be pain-free for days, weeks, or longer. Typically, patients who seek Stellate Ganglion Block as a pain-management treatment tend to require a series of injections to sustain long-term pain relief.  For anxiety and PTSD typically, patients respond with one or two treatments for over a year.

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Side Effects

As with any procedure, there is an extremely low chance of serious complications. However, there may be some side expected and temporary effects of the procedures which will resolve within a few hours such as: drooping eyelids, red (bloodshot) eyes, tearing, nasal stuffiness, hoarse voice, feeling of a ‘lump’ in your throat, difficulty swallowing, warmth or tingling in your arm or hand.

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Stellate Ganglion Block Therapy Resource Library

1. Cleveland Clinic – Stellate Ganglion Block (2021) 

2. Brigham and Women’s Hospital - Stellate Ganglion Blocks (2021)

3. Journal of Pain Practice – Ultrasound-guided Stellate Ganglion Blockades (2020)

4. Journal of Pain Research - Ganglion Block as a Treatment of Pain (2017)

5. Journal of Anesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology - Efficacy of Stellate Ganglion Blocks (2017)

6. Harvard Medical School - Harvard Women's Health Watch (2008)