Relief From Chronic Back Pain Offered By New Treatment

Main Category: Back Pain
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 24 May 2007 - 17:00 PDT

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Chronic back pain is a condition that affects a significant part of the population, with patients falling into three major groups; those with herniated discs, spinal stenosis (a nerve affecting narrowing of the spinal cord), and complications from failed back surgery. Radiofrequency thermolesioning is a widespread treatment for chronic back pain, but because of its neurodestructive nature, it is often considered an unsuitable treatment.

Building on earlier work, a new study led by Dr. David Abejón investigates the use of an alternative treatment known as pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) in treating chronic back pain. It finds that the treatment yields significant improvements for herniated disc patients and notable improvements for those with spinal stenosis. Since PRF does not involve drugs, it may be repeated multiple times. This study appears in the journal Pain Practice.

While the preexisting conditions that accompany chronic back pain, such as neurological lesions or neuropathic pain, make conventional radiofrequency a controversial treatment, Abejón notes "the use of PRF could reduce or potentially even eliminate these risks," providing safe, effective pain relief for patients with a variety of lower back pain conditions.

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This study is published in the latest issue of Pain Practice.

David Abejón M.D., FIPP is an affiliate of the Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro in Madrid.

Pain Practice, the official journal of the World Institute of Pain, publishes international multidisciplinary articles on pain that provide its readership with up-to-date knowledge of the research, evaluation methods, and techniques of pain management. The present literature on pain medicine is diverse and published in a variety of basic and clinical specialty journals. For a practitioner to subscribe to all the venues needed to cover the field of pain medicine would be impractical, if not impossible. Likewise, the literature search can be cumbersome, costly, and entirely unavailable in some areas. As a thorough, multidisciplinary journal, Pain Practice is a convenient, cost-effective way to resolve these dilemmas. For more information, please visit http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/ppr.

Blackwell Publishing is the world's leading society publisher, partnering with 665 medical, academic, and professional societies. Blackwell publishes over 800 journals and has over 6,000 books in print. The company employs over 1,000 staff members in offices in the US, UK, Australia, China, Singapore, Denmark, Germany, and Japan. Blackwell's mission as an expert publisher is to create long-term partnerships with our clients that enhance learning, disseminate research, and improve the quality of professional practice. For more information on Blackwell Publishing, please visit http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/ or http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/.

Contact: Sean Wagner
Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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