Nerve Block for Common Pain

1 Introduction.- Background.- Hyperstimulation Analgesia.- General Principles of Nerve Block.- Misconceptions and Management of Chronic Pain.- Placebos.- Acute Versus Chronic Pain.- Characteristics of Patients with Chronic Pain.- Compensation, Litigation, Malingering, and Unemployment.- Behavioral Approaches to Pain.- Narcotic Analgesics and Fear of Analgesic Abuse.- Summary.- Further Reading.- Diagnosis and Evaluation.- 2 The Muscular Origin of Pain.- Basic Concepts.- Location of Trigger Points.- Active Versus Latent Trigger Points.- Clinical Diagnosis and Physical Examination.- Most Common Symptomatic Complaints.- Treatment.- Trigger Points After Injury.- Further Reading.- 3 General Techniques and Indications.- General Indications.- Other Indications.- Positive and Negative Effects of Nerve Blocks.- Choice and Concentration of Anesthetic Agent.- Preparing the Patient.- Placebo and Nocebo Responses.- Follow-Up Treatment After Block.- Adverse Effects and Contraindications.- Use During Pregnancy.- 4 Specific Applications.- Blocks for Headache.- Greater Occipital Nerve Block.- Superficial Cervical Plexus Block.- Temporalis Injection for Temporal Headaches.- Neck Pain and Cervical Myodystonia: Tension Headache.- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.- Intercostal Block for Herpes Zoster.- Technique of Intercostal Block.- Low Back Pain.- Degenerative Joint Disease.- Herniated Disk with Radiculopathy.- Lumbar Myodystonia.- Technique of Lumbar Somatic Nerve Block.- Meralgia Paresthetica: Block of the Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve.- Stellate Ganglion Sympathetic Block.- Diagnosis and Therapy.- Technique and Anatomy.- 5 Cognitive Aspects of Pain.- Factors That Modulate Pain.- The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).- Psychological Contributions to Pain.- Appendix A.- Appendix B.- References.