THERAPEUTICS | LIDOCAIN INFUSION

You probably know lidocaine as the medication that is injected right under your skin to numb the area before an IV or injection, or what the dentist might use to numb up your gums before they work in your mouth. Lidocaine is a medication that stops nerves from conducting signals or talking to each other. If you can stop those signals, then your spinal cord or brain doesn’t transmit those signals to tell your brain that you have pain – SHAZAM! – no pain when your doctor works on that area. Granted, a lot more goes into nerve signaling but this is a simplified version of the body-spinal cord-brain pain pathway for numbing medication.

Lidocaine infusion has been shown to be successful in controlling pain where other agents have failed. The opioid sparing properties of lidocaine infusion added to its analgesic and antihyperalgesic properties make lidocaine infusion a viable option for pain control in opioid dependent patients. In addition, it has potent anti-inflammatory properties that are more potent than traditional anti-inflammatory drugs, with fewer side effects.