Ganglion Impar Block

The Ganglion Impar Block is part of the sympathetic nervous system. It is a bundle of nerve cells in front of the tailbone (sacral/coccyx) joint. Over-activity of these nerve cells can cause chronic tailbone (coccyx/sacral), pelvic pain, genital (perineal) pain, and rectal pain.  A ganglion impar block involves the injection of a local anesthetic (lidocaine or bupivacaine) around the ganglion impar. X-ray and/or ultrasound guidance is to ensure proper placement.  This procedure is both diagnostic as well as therapeutic, meaning that in addition to determining the cause of your pain, the block may treat the pain problem as well. This procedure is intended to temporarily block these sympathetic nerves with local anesthetics. Blocking these nerves often resets the nerves back into their normal state, thus treating the pain syndrome. The injection may be performed once or multiple times if needed.

A ganglion impar block is a procedure used to reduce the symptoms of chronic tailbone (coccyx/sacral), pelvic pain, rectal pain, and/or genital (perineal) pain by blocking the nerve impulses from these areas.