BACKACHE - Ozone Therapy for lumber Disk Herniation

BACKACHE - Ozone Therapy for lumber Disk Herniation

BACKACHE AND JOINTS PAIN

Back pain is very common. 8 out of every 10 people will have it at least once during their lives. An acute low back pain usually lasts for a few days to a few weeks and is caused by general work around the house or trauma from a sports or other injury. Acute back pain may vary from being a simple muscle ache to stabbing pain with decreased flexibility. Chronic back pain occurs when back pain lasts for 3 or more months. Most people recover with medications and physiotherapy. If that fails, we consider interventions like minimally invasive Ozonucleolysis.

Soft disks filled with a jelly-like material fit between these vertebrae. Disks provide stability to the spine and act as shock absorbers. If a disk slips out of place or ruptures it is known as a herniated disk. A herniated disk that presses on a nerve can cause back pain or sciatica.

Failed Back syndrome It is chronic back or leg pain that happens after back disc surgery. Some causes of the syndrome include residual disk herniation, post-operative scar tissue, pressure on a spinal nerve, altered joint mobility.

Arthritis is inflammation of the joints that causes pain and swelling. An untreated swollen joint can lead to permanent damage. Early changes in shoulder and knee can be treated by ozone therapy with good result.

Oxygen-ozone therapy is one of the most effective minimally invasive treatments currently available. Actions of ozone are: -

1.      Reduction in herniated disk volume reduce nerve root Compression.

2.      Disk shrinkage may also help to reduce venous stasis caused by disk compression of vessels, hereby improving local microcirculation and increasing the supply of oxygen.

3.      Analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects.

4.      Administering medical ozone followed by injection of a corticosteroid and an anesthetic at the same session gives better result.

Indications –


• Clinical signs of lumbar disk nerve root compression.
• CT and/or MR evidence of contained disk herniation.
• Chronic joint pain and swelling (shoulder and knee)

Success rate: - 70-80%

Procedure - Patient is given an intra-discal & periganglionic injection of an oxygen-ozone mixture at an appropriate concentration when ozone has a direct effect on the disk’s nucleus pulposus, resulting in its release of water molecules and subsequent cell degeneration of the matrix, which is replaced by fibrous tissues in the space of 5 weeks and the formation of new blood cells. Together, these events result in a reduction in disk volume. At the end of treatment, patients were advised to rest in supine position for 2 hours. All patients were discharged on the same day as treatment. On discharge, patients were instructed to gradually resume normal activity. All patients underwent follow-up examinations 2 weeks, 2 months, and 6 months after treatment.

Advantages Oxygen-ozone therapy: -  

• It is less risky as compared to surgery
• It is cheaper than traditional surgery.
• No surgical scar on skin.
• Exact localization of the disease is possible through image guidance.
• Procedure done under local anaesthesia. 
• It is done as day care hospital stay. 
• Patients can resume normal activities within one to two day.

For more in-depth information contact :

 Dr. Pradeep Muley M.D.
Head & Senior Consultant Interventional Radiologist, Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.                    Mobile 098104 92778 or Website http://www.indianinterventionalradiology.in