Stellate Ganglion Block

January 3, 2022

A stellate ganglion block is a treatment approach for upper body pain that is caused by damaged ganglion nerves. The sympathetic chain consists of ganglion nerve bundles that run along the spinal cord and extend down the trunk of the body. The nerves extend to various parts of the body and control numerous unconscious functions such as heart rate as well as conscious biological processes. Ganglia are clusters of nerve endings called nexuses and essential ganglia are located throughout the sympathetic nervous system. A single network of these nerve endings has the ability to control sensations and movement.

Possible Conditions

• Back Pain
• Chronic Pain

Stellate ganglion blocks might also be able to treat long COVID symptoms. The research on this is new but promising.

Long COVID symptoms include:

• Fatigue
• Brain fog
• Anosmia (loss of smell)
• Parosmia (abnormality in the sense of smell)
• Dysgeusia (change in taste)
• Orthostatic intolerance (unpleasant symptoms that happen after standing up from a lying or sitting position)

Stellate ganglion blocks lead to more blood flow. This can, in turn, ease long COVID symptoms. Long COVID now has several different names including post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), long-haul COVID, long-haulers, post-acute COVID-19, long-term effects of COVID, or chronic COVID.