Coccygeal Nerve Blocks
What are Coccygeal Nerve Blocks?
Coccygeal nerve blocks can help relieve your tailbones chronic pain. Experiencing chronic pain in your coccyx, or tailbone, can be frustrating and debilitating. As with all chronic pain, the experience can lead to a decrease in overall engagement and an increased risk of depression.
Seeking treatment for this type of pain is crucial not only for your physical health but also to maintain and even improve your mental health. If you are experiencing chronic pain in your tailbone you may wish to consider coccygeal nerve blocks.
Back pain is the leading cause of disability in the United States, according to a study by the Global Burden of Disease in 2010. At least one half of all Americans experience back pain at some time in their lives.
Determining the difference between acute and chronic pain is imperative. Seeking proper treatment will help restore some normalcy to your experience. Back pain is an expensive proposition for Americans and costs us more than $50 billion dollars a year.
Most chronic back pain is not caused by organic factors such as cancer, fractures or arthritis. Typically there is some mechanical aspect, such as a muscle or joint injury. Coccygeal Nerve blocks are among the therapies that exist to help treat chronic back pain.
Nerve blocks can be performed to be temporary, semi-permanent and permanent. If you believe that any of these forms of coccygeal nerve blocks can help you manage your chronic pain, consult a physician immediately.
Sometimes a bone fracture or extreme injury to the tailbone area can cause inflamed nerve damage that will be slow to heal, or may never heal correctly. Coccygeal injuries are more common in women due to the structure of the pelvis and can be caused by a fall, a sports injury or even childbirth.
Prior to considering coccygeal nerve blocks to treat the pain, a physician will typically attempt less invasive methods, including instructions to improve your posture while sitting, anti-inflammatory pain relievers and heat or ice treatments. If these therapies do not work to decrease and heal the pain then nerve blocks can be considered to treat the chronic nature of the injury.
Beyond treatments such as coccygeal nerve blocks, someone experiencing chronic pain may also consider some lifestyle changes to help alleviate symptoms.
Healthy eating, exercise with proper stretching techniques, good posture, the wearing of comfortable shoes, and the right mattress for comfortable sleeping are all easy ways to help curb your chronic pain symptoms. It is also important to quit smoking as it can exacerbate the pain. Consider creating a workspace that is ergonomic and comfortable, such as a desk that you can work at while standing.
It is important to keep the risks in mind for a procedure such as coccygeal nerve blocks and to try as many alternatives as possible. A semi-permanent nerve block is created by injecting an anesthetic into the nerves to block the pain for an extended period of time.
If the pain in your coccyx is determined to be chronic, there may be additional steps, such as muscle manipulation and physical therapy. Consult a chronic pain physician to determine the best treatment for your specific situation.
Chronic pain is defined by experts as any pain that persists for longer than three months. The chronic pain will not only create physical discomfort but will affect mental health and might cause depression. To improve your overall quality of life, talk with your physician for more information about coccygeal nerve blocks and other treatments.
