Ultrasound-guided lumbar multifidus block provides effective postoperative analgesia for lumbar spine surgery

Mechanical Needling With Sterile Water Versus Lidocaine Injection for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

Study Design: This was a retrospective observational study that assessed the clinical outcome of ageing patients who received ultrasound-guided (USG) mechanical needling with sterile water injection. In addition, the clinical outcome of age-and gender matched patients randomly selected from patients who received needling with sterile water was compared to the patients injected with lidocaine in a 1:1 ratio.Objective: This present study aimed to explore the clinical effects of USG mechanical needling with sterile water injection for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).Methods: The data was extracted from the medical records of ageing patients with LSS who received USG injection at the lumbosacral spine by the first author. Low back pain or axial pain, and leg pain or radicular pain were assessed by the visual analogue scale, and gait ability with walking distance were obtained at six different time points.Results: A total of 4328 medical records were examined. Four thousand two hundred and twenty-eight ageing patients received mechanical needling with sterile water injection and found the efficacy lasted up to 6 months. One hundred patients were compared with 100 patients who received lidocaine injection. Those who received lidocaine had pain returned at 3 months and 6 months post-injection.Conclusions: USG mechanical needling with sterile water injection could help relieve axial and radicular pain for at least 6 months. Removal of calcification and fibrosis as well as reduction of sensitization are all possible mechanisms.

Determining the Most Suitable Ultrasound-Guided Injection Technique in Treating Lumbar Facet Joint Syndrome

(1) Background: Lower back pain is often caused by lumbar facet joint syndrome. This study investigated the effectiveness of three different injection methods under ultrasound guidance in treating elderly patients with lumbar facet joint syndrome. The difficulty in performing these injections was also evaluated; (2) Methods: A total of 60 elderly patients with facet joint syndrome as the cause of lower back pain were recruited and divided into 3 groups. Group 1 received medial branch block (MBB). Group 2 received intra-articular facet joint injections. Group 3 received injection into the multifidus muscle portion that covers the facet joint. Five percent dextrose water (D5W) was used as the injectant. The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to measure the degree of lower back pain; (3) Results: Before the injection treatments, the VAS score averaged about 7.5. After three consecutive injection treatments (two weeks interval), the VAS score decreased significantly to an average of about 1 in all 3 groups, representing mild to no pain. Between group analyses also did not reveal significant statistical differences, suggesting that these procedures are equally effective; (4) Conclusions: Ultrasound-guided injection of the multifidus muscle may be a feasible option in treating elderly patients with lower back pain caused by facet joint syndrome as it is easier to perform as compared to MBB and intra-articular facet joint injection.

Mechanical Needling with Sterile Water versus Steroids Injection for Facet Joint Syndrome: A Retrospective Observational Study

Objective. This present study aimed to explore the clinical effects of ultrasound-guided (USG) mechanical needling with sterile water injection for lumbar facet joint syndrome. Methods. This was a retrospective cohort study that assessed the clinical outcome of ageing patients who received USG mechanical needling with sterile water injection. In addition, the clinical outcome of age- and gender-matched patients randomly selected from patients who received mechanical needling with sterile water was compared to the patients injected with steroids in a 2 : 1 ratio. The data were extracted from the medical records of ageing patients with facet joint syndrome who received USG injection at the lumbosacral spine by the first author. Low back pain or axial pain, and leg pain or radicular pain were assessed by the visual analogue scale (VAS), and gait ability with walking distance was obtained at 6 different time points. Results. A total of 4,276 medical records were examined. Four thousand two hundred twenty-eight ageing patients received needling with sterile water injection and found that the efficacy lasted up to 6 months. Ninety-six patients were compared with 48 patients who received steroid injection. Those who received steroids had less back and leg pain at 1 week after injection; however, pain returned at 3 months and 6 months after injection. Conclusions. USG mechanical needling with sterile water could help relieve axial and radicular pain for at least 6 months. Reduced sensitization and removal of calcification and fibrosis were all possible mechanisms.Keywords: Mechanical needling, Sterile water, Ultrasound guided (USG) injection, Facet joint syndrome, Pain

Ultrasound-guided Medial Branch Blocks, Facet Joint, and Multifidus Muscle Injections: How It Is Done under One Needle Insertion Point!

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