Erector spinae block: beyond the torso

This article aims to summarize the current literature describing the application of erector spinae plane (ESP) blocks for regional anesthesia of upper and lower limbs and to discuss the advantages and limitations.

Investigations are still at an early stage but results are promising. High thoracic ESP blockade can relieve acute and chronic shoulder pain through local anesthetic diffusion to cervical nerve roots, although it may not be as effective as direct local anesthetic injection around the brachial plexus. It does, however, preserve motor and phrenic nerve function to a greater extent. It will also block the T2 innervation of the axilla which can be a source of pain in complex arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Lumbar ESP blocks provide effective analgesia following hip arthroplasty and arthroscopy, and appear comparable to lumbar plexus, quadratus lumborum, and fascia iliaca blocks. Unlike the latter, they are motor-sparing and are associated with improved postoperative ambulation.

High thoracic and lumbar ESP blocks have the potential to provide adequate analgesia of the upper and lower limbs respectively, without causing significant motor block. They are thus alternative methods of regional anesthesia when other techniques are not feasible or have undesirable adverse effects.