Lumbar Sympathetic Injections

Prior to starting the procedure, your physician will use a local anaesthesia to numb an area on the lower back. Then, using a fluoroscopy to guide the procedure, your physician will insert a small needle into your back and along the spinal column. Before administering the cortisone into the spine, your doctor will inject a contrast dye to ensure the medication is being administered to the correct area; once confirmed, the steroid medication is injected into the spine. Most lumbar sympathetic block procedures take between 30 and 45 minutes and are administered in an outpatient setting.

The lumbar sympathetic block is considered a low risk procedure; however, like any medical procedure, post-procedure bruising, tenderness, swelling, and soreness at the site of the injection are quite common.
 
While rare, serious complications resulting from a lumbar sympathetic block including infection and bleeding are uncommon.

Patients often report experiencing pain relief immediately after receiving a lumbar sympathetic block injection, most often the result of the local anaesthetic. While pain and discomfort often return a few hours after receiving the injection, long-term relief typically occurs two or three days after the procedure.
 
Pain relief tends to be more significant and longer lasting with each subsequent lumbar sympathetic block injection. Patients often report between a 50 percent and 80 percent reduction in pain and discomfort lasting for up to a year after completing a series of lumbar sympathetic block injections.