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How did 2023 go? Here are some highlights below:
In May, Dr. Lynch presented at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting in Denver on his work with PTSD in elite athletes. In October, he spoke at the Integrative Warrior Health Summit at the Military Women’s Memorial in Arlington which was sponsored by HunterSeven Foundation and Task Force Dagger Special Operations Foundation. In December, Dr. Lynch presented on SGB in Amsterdam to an international audience of physicians who routinely treat PTSD. Online, he participated as a guest on several podcasts and produced three new educational videos which have accumulated over 6,000 views on YouTube thus far. Dr. Lynch frequently fields inquiries from numerous clinicians regarding specific patients, techniques and indications. Last year, this also included advising a new center in The Netherlands on establishing their SGB practice as well as educating several other European specialists.
In addition to our patients from the USA, we are always willing to care for anyone suffering around the world who may benefit from our care. Our care also involves collaborating with our patients’ therapists after they return home to resume therapy. The behavioral health community at large seems more familiar with SGB. Some of this increased awareness of stellate ganglion block is also the direct result of outreach and education from presenting research and experiences in official forums throughout 2023.
Dr. Lynch’s network of referring clinicians continued to grow. His colleagues range from pediatricians and family physicians to social workers, psychiatrists, and psychologists. Many of these teammates were not familiar with SGB before hearing of this work. Quite a few were surprised they had overlooked the published evidence supporting SGB in the medical literature. Others learn about the value of adding SGB to their patient’s treatment only after experiencing it firsthand. Last year, there were hundreds of referrals from therapists many miles away including California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Canada. Yet, we have many neighbors around Delaware/Maryland/Virginia who are still suffering and could likely benefit from SGB, but they have not been introduced to this treatment by their treating clinicians. We hope to improve collaboration and cooperation across disciplines in 2024. Medicine is a team sport!
The year 2023 marked a very important discovery where Dr. Lynch and colleagues’ research showed that SGB cuts anxiety symptoms in half. We published the first study demonstrating that SGB can be extremely helpful to those suffering from Anxiety who do not necessarily have a diagnosis of PTSD.* This was also the first study to demonstrate the benefit of a bilateral SGB over treating just a single side. The full article is available on our Evidence page. Briefly, anxiety symptoms are scored on a 21-point scale called the GAD-7. Our research showed that if we treat the stellate ganglion on one side followed by the other side the following day, GAD-7 scores decreased by about 10 points at 1 week and remained 9.5 points lower than baseline still at 1 month. This is over twice the change that is considered clinically important on the GAD-7. This is a big deal, since 50% of anxiety sufferers do not respond well to psychotherapy and/or pharmacotherapy. So, adding stellate ganglion block to standard anxiety treatments now may provide hope for all who suffer with anxiety.
Dr. Lynch had several influential engagements with key leaders in 2023 to raise awareness of SGB and to influence policy and access across the diverse groups of trauma survivors. He hosted the Maryland Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Anthony Woods, for a discussion on improving access to SGB for Maryland’s veterans with PTSD. Senator Sarah Elfreth also visited with Dr. Lynch in July, expressing her dedication to helping access cutting-edge trauma treatments for all Marylanders including survivors of sexual assault. Other public official support came from a meeting with Senator Dawn Gile who expressed support for increasing access to SGB across the state. Dr. Lynch also served as guest speaker at For the Love of a Veteran annual charity gala in Pennsylvania and partnered with this same organization to raise awareness among community leaders at the Veterans Fair in Delaware in September. He also met with local leaders and peer counselors in the fire fighter community and conducted a site visit to the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Center of Excellence in Upper Marlboro to coordinate SGB treatment for fire fighters from the US and Canada who are suffering from their traumatic first responder experiences.
Throughout 2023, Dr. Lynch fought for advancing access to SGB for survivors of sexual assault through many local and national organizations. In August, we met with the leaders of RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), which is the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. I will continue to engage with leaders and charitable organizations in the sexual assault space to bring wider understanding of the value of adding stellate ganglion block to help survivors of rape, intimate partner violence (IPV), childhood abuse, and neglect. There is no shortage of work to do in this space and we are absolutely committed to doing our part to help survivors from all trauma backgrounds!
In summary, 2023 was a busy year, but we have only just begun scratching the surface of treating those suffering from the injuries of trauma. If you’d like to join in this endeavor, you are welcome to climb aboard and row alongside us! LOTS of work to do!
*Lynch JH, Mulvaney SW, Bryan CJ, Hernandez D. Stellate Ganglion Block Reduces Anxiety Symptoms by Half: A Case Series of 285 Patients. Journal of Personalized Medicine. 2023; 13(6):958.
