What Is A Cluneal Nerve Block?

If you’re one of the millions of people in the U.S. who suffer from lower back pain, a cluneal nerve block could help. Cluneal nerve blocks are a minimally-invasive procedure. They can treat back and upper buttock pain that’s caused by cluneal nerve entrapment, damage, or inflammation.

In order to better understand how cluneal nerve blocks can be used to treat certain conditions, take a look at the function and location of nerves located in the middle and superior cluneal regions of the back:

  • The middle cluneal nerves can be found between positions S1 and S3 in a structure called the dorsal rami.
  • The dorsal rami is located in the lumbar back and it regulates sensory, motor, and visceral signal transmission between cluneal nerves.
  • Middle cluneal nerves are also embedded in the posterior superior iliac spinal region, which refers to the buttocks.
  • Superior cluneal nerves can be found between positions L1 and L3 along the dorsal rami. This is the upper buttock region. These nerves are at the very tail end of the lower spine and they regulate the transmission of sensory signals in this area.

Cluneal Nerve Block | PainDoctor.com

Cluneal nerve entrapment is an often under-diagnosed cause of lower back pain. If your doctor thinks that cluneal nerve entrapment could be the source of your back pain, they’ll assess:

  • Tenderness along certain “trigger point” areas in the back and buttocks
  • Your pain levels when sitting for extended periods of time
  • The history of your pain in the lower back and upper buttocks

Diagnosing Lower Back Pain

Lower back problems are among the main health issues that afflict people in the United States. Moreover, back problems are the leading cause for missed time from work. It affects 80% of people in U.S. at some point in their lives.

The conditions that are responsible for lumbar lower back pain are not always easy to diagnose. Furthermore, research shows that many clinical cases related to back pain are not properly diagnosed even after a thorough assessment. Certain injuries and conditions, however, are frequently associated with this type of chronic pain. These include:

Diagnostic tools that are typically used to help pinpoint the reason for a patient’s back pain include a medical history assessment, a spinal exam, or an imaging screening. However, if the results from these diag