The treatment of Sciatica as well as Lumbar Radiculopathy with an Intervertebral Foramen Opening Protocol The Pilot Study was conducted in a Hospital Emergency as well as an in-patient setting – DocWire News

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Physiother Theory Pract. 2022 Mar 6:1-11. doi: 10.1080/09593985.2022.2037797. Available ahead of print.


ABSTRACT

AIMS: Conduct the pilot study of an static foramen of the nerve opening procedure for lumbar radiculopathy resulting from disc hernia in an urgent hospital setting to determine whether patients can follow the protocol. If they could, consistency could be seen across the outcomes, better outcomes would be seen within the study group and if the procedure would be secure.

Methods: Patients suffering from sciatica showed up on their own choice to the emergency department of their local hospital and were admitted to the hospital for treatment and were then randomized in two categories:) Control (n 10) that included walking, forward bending and medications; and 2) experimental (n 10) as control subjects with a static lumbar foramen opening technique using flexion as well as contralateral lateral inflexion (side-lying). Results were back and leg pain (i.e. the visual analog scale) as well as impairment (i.e. EuroQol5D5L or Oswestry) as well as straight leg lift.

Results: At the time of admission, the primary outcome variables for both groups did not differ significantly. All patients had either large or moderate disc hernias when they were assessed on MRI while 75% of them had electrophysiology-related neurological problems. After discharge, patients from the experimental group performed significantly better (p > .05) than the controls on all outcomes. The statistical analysis of the outcomes yielded greater significance, greater small effect sizes, and no difference in clinical significance between those in the group that were experimental. The patients from the experiment group consumed less medications than those in the control group (21 percent against 79 percent) and included less than half of the prescription opioids (tramadol). No adverse reactions were observed.

Conclusions: Patients were able to follow the procedure and better outcomes were observed, without adverse side effects. These results are in support of a deeper research into the effectiveness of therapy and duration of hospital stay cost, transformation to surgery, and the consumption of medications, including opioids.

PMID:35253599 | DOI:10.1080/09593985.2022.2037797