Regional anesthesia is a method of pain prevention for surgeries and procedures. In regionalanesthesia, only the area of the body that would feel pain is numbed, allowing the patient to have the procedure while awake or while sedated but still conscious.
Spinal or epidural blocks are examples of regional anesthesia. They are injected near the spinal canal to block sensations in the lower body or limbs.
Regional anesthesia is different from general anesthesia, which works on the entire body, not just the surgery site, and the patient is conscious during surgery. It differs from local anesthesia in that a larger region of the body is numbed.
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Why Regional Anesthesia Is Used
How Regional Anesthesia Is Given
Epidurals and spinal blocks are both administered near the spinal cord. An epidural provides continuous pain relief as long as medications are continuously running and the patient does not have any side effects. A spinal block is given with a needle to the spinal sac, with the medication entering the cerebrospinal fluid. It uses a finer needle than an epidural.
The location of a peripheral nerve block depends on the specific region of the body that needs to be numbed. The anesthetic solution doesn’t enter the nerves but is injected near them. A nerve stimulator or portable ultrasound device might be used to locate the nerves that are the target.
Specific nerve blocks include:
Procedures
2 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.Regional anesthesia for surgery.American Society of Anesthesiologists.Regional anesthesia.
2 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.Regional anesthesia for surgery.American Society of Anesthesiologists.Regional anesthesia.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.Regional anesthesia for surgery.American Society of Anesthesiologists.Regional anesthesia.
American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine.Regional anesthesia for surgery.
American Society of Anesthesiologists.Regional anesthesia.
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