London: If you are suffering from severe back pain and have tried medications, exercises or therapies, but nothing seems to work, here's good news for you!
A group of scientists have found a state-of-the art treatment which cures back pain in more than 80 percent of sufferers with no side effects. According to Express.co.uk, the procedure takes as little as 10 minutes and is painless.
In tests, the majority of patients were pain-free after receiving the "image-guided pulsed radio frequency treatment" for their lower back pain and sciatica.
Study's lead investigator Dr Alessandro Napoli, a radiologist at Sapienza University in Italy, said, "The nerve root is a sensitive structure that when pinched becomes inflamed and causes pain. The body reacts with muscle constriction, which decreases the distance between vertebrae and a vicious cycle is created."
Tests of the treatment were carried out on 80 patients experiencing at least three months of lower back pain due to a herniated disk that had not responded to treatments including exercise and medication.
The participants underwent the minimally invasive procedure in which, with the help of CT imaging, a needle was guided to the location of a bulging disc and nerve root. A probe was then inserted through the needle tip delivering pulsed radio frequency energy to the area over a 10 minute period.
Dr Napoli noted, "The results have been extraordinary. Patients have been relieved of pain and resumed their normal activities within a day." Of the 80 patients treated, 81 percent were pain-free one year after a single 10-minute treatment session.
Six patients required a second pulsed radio frequency session. Ninety per cent of the patients were able to avoid surgical treatment. Dr Napoli concluded by saying, "Following this treatment, inflammation and pain go away."
