Can an Injection Alleviate PTSD?

By Debbie Gregory.

The U.S. Army has commissioned a study to see if an anesthetic injection to the neck can alleviates the symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.)

Stellate ganglion blocks have been used to treat shingles and arm pain, but the $2 million Army study is the first to examine whether the treatment might be helpful to those with PTSD.

During the procedure, a doctor uses ultrasound to guide the needle carefully into the stellate ganglion, a mass of nerve tissue in the neck, and injects the local anesthetic. The injections work on blocking messages along nerve fibers that influence the fight-or-flight response, which can include symptoms such as nightmares and hot flashes.

The study is being led by scientists at RTI International, a North Carolina-based research and development institute. It has begun recruiting active duty troops who have PTSD at military hospitals in North Carolina, Hawaii and Germany.

Some military doctors have already begun treating PTSD patients, particularly Navy SEALs and Army Green Berets, with the shot. It appears that once the treatment has been administered, the shot eases the patient’s anxiety enough so that they can receive other treatments.

“Once people have the shot, they get dramatically better immediately,” said Col. Jim Lynch, command surgeon at the joint Special Operations Command-Africa

Early experiments with the injection have proved effective.

The military is cautiously optimistic about the treatment, but won’t endorse it until there is sufficient evidence that proves its efficacy.

The researchers expect to complete the study in 2018.

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