[Diagnostics and minimally invasive therapy for chronic low back pain]

[Selected interventional methods for the treatment of chronic pain : part 2: regional anesthetic techniques close to the spinal cord and neuromodulative methods]

Approximately 5-8 million people in Germany suffer from chronic pain and some patients can profit from specific interventional techniques. In detail these are regional anesthetic techniques close to the spinal cord, neuromodulation, blocks of the sympathetic chain and peripheral nerve blocks. Part 2 of the article presents regional anesthetic techniques close to the spinal cord and neuromodulative methods. Regional anesthetic techniques close to the spinal cord are of high importance for the treatment of chronic low back pain although the efficiency is highly disputed due to the lack of evidence. Neuromodulation includes amongst others intrathecal pharmacotherapy and spinal cord stimulation, which are used for highly selected patients and can lead to very good results for these patients.

[Minimally invasive injection therapy in lumbar syndromes]

Minimally invasive injection therapy is an effective approach for the treatment of sciatica with less complications. This therapy is a sufficient option in cases without absolute indications for operation.The paper describes in detail the different injection techniques like spinal nerve analgesia, epidural dorsal/perineural injections, vertebral joint infiltrations, and radiculographies.