Case Report: Relief of long-standing severe motion sickness following stellate ganglion block

Motion sickness is a common and often debilitating condition arising from sensory conflict within the vestibular-visual-proprioceptive system, with downstream activation of autonomic and emetic pathways. Despite its prevalence in travel, maritime operations, aviation, spaceflight, and virtual environments, effective prophylaxis remains limited by adverse side effects....

Single case report — no actionable change; interesting hypothesis-generating finding for clinicians managing refractory vestibular-related motion sickness, but no evidence base to support adoption.

Stellate ganglion block is an emerging intervention for several sensory and autonomic conditions; this case adds vestibular-driven motion sickness to the list of potential indications warranting prospective study.

1. 01Long-standing severe motion sickness resolved following a stellate ganglion block (a neck nerve injection).
2. 02The underlying mechanism is proposed as sensory conflict between the vestibular, visual, and proprioceptive systems.
3. 03Evidence is limited to a single patient — N=1 case report.
4. 04Stellate ganglion block is already used for other conditions but is not an established vestibular treatment.
5. 05Prospective controlled trials are needed before any clinical recommendation.

PMID

42182058

DOI

10.3389/fnins.2026.1811989.

Journal

Frontiers in Neuroscience

Publication type

case_report

Evidence level

4

Sample size

1

Population

Single patient with long-standing severe motion sickness

Intervention

Stellate ganglion block