Common peroneal nerve block for sciatica.

The effectiveness of common peroneal nerve block for lumbar disc herniation was evaluated in a double blind study. Common peroneal nerve block was performed near the fibular head in nine patients using 2% lidocaine and in 10 patients using saline. The average pain scale score decreased from 3.1 to 0.6 in the lidocaine group, whereas it decreased from 3.0 to 2.6 in the placebo group. The average result in the straight leg raising test increased from 61 degrees to 84 degrees in the lidocaine group, but from 44 degrees to 50 degrees in the placebo group. Lower leg pain lessened more in the lidocaine group than in the placebo group. The finding that lower leg pain disappeared or decreased with a lidocaine block at a site far distal to the lumbar lesion suggests that impulses that are transmitted distal to the lesion may be important for the generation of sciatic radicular pain.