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Out-Patient Treatment Provides Long-Term Back Pain
Relief
Reported December 04, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) – A minimally invasive treatment called
percutaneous disc decompression for painful herniated disc kept patients
pain-free up to two years later.
Discs are sponge-like cushions that rest between the bones of the spine.
When a disc bulges or herniates outward, it can cause irritation or pressure
on the spinal nerves, resulting in a condition known as sciatica. Sciatica
is characterized by back and leg pain and weakness. Physicians often
prescribe weeks of anti-inflammatory and pain medications before considering
other treatments.
"Most protocols call for a minimal approach to initially treat a herniated
disc," Alexios Kelekis, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of interventional
radiology at the University of Athens in Greece, was quoted as saying. "But
by deflating the disc and giving the nerve root the space it needs, disc
decompression solves the problem of root irritation and prevails in the long
run."
In percutaneous disc decompression, interventional radiologists use image
guidance to puncture a bulging disc through the skin with a needle and
deflate the disc by either removing some tissue or using energy to dissolve
it. The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis under local
anesthesia, and patients are usually able to return to normal activities
within 30 days.
In this study, Dr. Kelekis and colleagues treated two groups of patients
with herniated discs and sciatica confirmed by MRI. Each group included 17
men and 14 women. The mean age of patients was 36.
Both groups had tried different conservative treatments without success. The
first group, which received six weeks of rigorous conservative therapy
consisting of analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs and muscle relaxants,
reported pain reduction and improved mobility at the end of treatment. The
second group underwent percutaneous disc decompression.
Upon completion of treatment, patients in both groups were clinically
evaluated and completed a questionnaire to assess pain relief, quality of
life and mobility improvement at intervals of three months, 12 months and 24
months later.
Both patient groups reported pain reduction and increased mobility at the
three-month interval. However, one year and two years after treatment,
patients who had undergone disc decompression continued to improve, while
patients who received only conservative therapy reported that their pain had
returned and their mobility had decreased.
"Up until 12 months following therapy, both groups of patients were doing
great," said Dr. Kelekis. "But by 12 months beyond treatment, patients who
received only conservative therapy had returned to their initial pain
levels."
SOURCE: Presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North
America (RSNA), Chicago, December 2, 2009 |
