Nerve root blocks

Sometimes a nerve root can become irritated or inflamed, causing pain, numbness, or other nerve-related symptoms. This can be both diagnosed and treated with so-called root blocks.

There are two main techniques:

1. Transforaminal root block – a targeted injection that reaches a specific nerve root. This method is used when you want to determine exactly which nerve is causing the problem.

2. Interlaminar root block (epidural block) – an injection that affects multiple nerve roots at the same time. It has a lower diagnostic value but can provide good pain relief for more widespread or non-specific root involvement.