Paincare Florida

Celiac Plexus Block

PAIN TREATMENT

Celiac Plexus Block: Pain Management

If you’re dealing with chronic or severe abdominal pain that hasn’t responded to traditional treatment, you may need to address the bundle of nerves called the celiac plexus.[1] Your celiac nerves are in the upper abdomen, sending and receiving input from the abdominal organs. A celiac plexus block is an interventional procedure that targets and blocks abdominal pain signals from the celiac plexus, often related to cancer or pancreatitis.[2]

Gut pain can be debilitating and affect your appetite, sleep and quality of life. If you have been dealing with stomach pain that affects your daily life, you may benefit from a celiac plexus block. Let’s look at how this unique block works, the conditions it treats and its benefits.

How Celiac Plexus Injections Work

The celiac plexus is a network of nerves in the abdomen that sends pain signals from your digestive system, mainly the pancreas, esophagus, stomach, spleen, kidneys, liver, gallbladder and small intestine.[3] If you have pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, or other abdominal cancers, you are likely experiencing mild to severe pain. When pain medications aren’t relieving your abdominal pain, a celiac plexus block (CPB) can interrupt pain signals being sent to the brain from the affected organ, relieving your pain.[4]

Celiac plexus blocks inject pain medicine directly into the celiac ganglion, also called the solar plexus. The injection is completed in the office using X-ray guidance (fluoroscopy) to ensure the medication reaches the celiac nerve bundle. By specifically targeting the nerve fibers within the celiac plexus, CPBs disrupt pain signals from the abdomen to the brain, offering significant relief and enhancing quality of life.[4]

Conditions Treated with Solar Plexus Blocks

CPBs effectively manage pain caused by several specific conditions that affect the abdominal area.

Common conditions treated with celiac plexus injections include:

  • Chronic pancreatitis (painful inflammation of the pancreas) [5]
  • Abdominal cancer (Cancers of the stomach, pancreas, liver and other digestive organs) [6]
  • Mesenteric ischemia (reduced blood flow to the intestines) [7]
  • Post-surgical pain (after abdominal surgeries) [8]
  • Crohn’s disease [9]

Benefits of Celiac Nerve Injections

Celiac plexus blocks offer numerous benefits as a diagnostic tool and a therapeutic treatment that provides immediate relief or significant reduction of abdominal pain. They can help eliminate intense breakthrough pain, helping to maintain your comfort and quality of life.[2]. Easing abdominal pain improves appetites and helps move your bowels more easily.[10]

These abdominal blocks are minimally invasive and offer fewer risks and complications with a much faster recovery than surgery.[11]. CPB injections may last several weeks or months and can be repeated as needed. A critical benefit of celiac plexus blocks is the reduced reliance on opioids and other addictive pain medications.[2]

CPB Specialists & Pain Management Clinics

If your chronic abdominal pain has failed to respond to conventional treatments, you may want to discuss the celiac plexus block procedure with your physician. Pain management specialists can assess your condition and determine if a celiac block is the ideal treatment for your pain.

Many pain management clinics offer a comprehensive approach to chronic pain and may combine your block with complementary therapies such as yoga, massage, acupuncture, and breathwork. Emotional support and talk therapy are crucial if you are facing cancer or cancer-related pain. This holistic, whole-body approach to pain management can help ease pain and improve your overall well-being and quality of life.

Don’t let chronic pain and side effects like loss of appetite and reduced quality of life control your life. Reach out to a specialist today to discuss your options and take the first step towards feeling better.

Resources:

  1. Celiac Plexus Block. Pancreatic Cancer Action Network [Internet]. Published November 10, 2023. Accessed November 16, 2024. Available from: https://pancan.org/facing-pancreatic-cancer/living-with-pancreatic-cancer/managing-side-effects-palliative-care/symptoms-pain/celiac-plexus-block
  2. Celiac Plexus Block. Cleveland Clinic [Internet]. Accessed November 16, 2024. Available from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/16853-celiac-plexus-block
  3. Vaskovic J. Celiac plexus. Kenhub [Internet]. Last reviewed: November 03, 2023. Accessed November 16, 2024. Available from: https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/celiac-plexus
  4. John RS, Dixon B, Shienbaum R, et al. Celiac Plexus Block. StatPearls Publishing [Internet]. Published 2021. Updated January 30, 2024. Accessed November 16, 2024. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK531469/
  5. Cornman-Homonoff J, Holzwanger DJ, Lee KS, Madoff DC, Li D. Celiac Plexus Block and Neurolysis in the Management of Chronic Upper Abdominal Pain. Semin Intervent Radiol [Internet]. 2017 Dec;34(4):376-386. doi: 10.1055/s-0037-1608861. Epub 2017 Dec 14. PMID: 29249862; PMCID: PMC5730442. Accessed November 16, 2024. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5730442/
  6. Celiac Plexus Block: Procedure & Side Effects. City of Hope [Internet]. Published September 30, 2022. Accessed November 16, 2024. Available from: https://www.cancercenter.com/cancer-types/pancreatic-cancer/treatments/celiac-plexus-neurolysis
  7. Abdelhamid A, Salim M. Erector Spinae Plane Block (ESPB) as an Alternative for Celiac Plexus Blocks: Expanding ESPB Indications for Mesenteric Ischemia Relief. Cureus. 2023 Jun 2;15(6):e39860. doi: 10.7759/cureus.39860. PMID: 37404427; PMCID: PMC10315009. Accessed November 16, 2024. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10315009/
  8. Teo ZHT, Tey BLJ, Foo CW, Wong WY, Low JK. Intraoperative Celiac Plexus Block With Preperitoneal Infusion Reduces Opioid Usage in Major Hepato-pancreato-biliary Surgery: A Pilot Study. Ann Surg. 2021;274(1):e97-e99. doi:10.1097/SLA.0000000000004883 Accessed November 16, 2024. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33856374/
  9. Pereira GAM, Lopes PTC, Santos AMPV dos, et al. Celiac plexus block: an anatomical study and simulation using computed tomography. Radiologia Brasileira. 2014;47(5):283-287. doi:https://doi.org/10.1590/0100-3984.2013.1881 Accessed November 16, 2024. Available from: https://www.verywellhealth.com/solar-plexus-8580526
  10. Ina H, Kitoh T, Kobayashi MM, Imai S, Ofusa Y, Goto H. New Technique for the Neurolytic Celiac Plexus Block. Anesthesiology [Internet]. 1996;85(1):212-217. doi:https://doi.org/10.1097/00000542-199607000-00028. Accessed November 16, 2024. Available from: https://pubs.asahq.org/anesthesiology/article/85/1/212/35532/New-Technique-for-the-Neurolytic-Celiac-Plexus
  11. Celiac Plexus Nerve Block. MedStar Health [Internet]. Published 2024. Accessed November 20, 2024. Accessed November 16, 2024. Available from: https://www.medstarhealth.org/services/celiac-plexus-block
Scroll to Top