• Eunjoo Choi, Ho Young Gil, Jiyoun Ju, Woong Ki Han, Francis Sahngun Nahm, and Pyung-Bok Lee.
• Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, 82 Gumi-ro 173 Beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam 13620, Republic of Korea.
• Int. J. Clin. Pract. 2022 Jan 1; 2022: 6343837.

ObjectiveNonsurgical spinal decompression therapy (NSDT) is a conservative treatment for the lumbosacral herniated intervertebral disc (L-HIVD). This study aimed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the NSDT and change in disc volume through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in subacute L-HIVD.MethodsSixty patients with subacute L-HIVD were randomized into either the decompression group (group D, n = 30) or the nondecompression group (group N, n = 30). In group D, NSDT was performed ten times in eight weeks. In group N, pseudodecompression therapy (no force) was performed with the same protocol. Lower back and lower leg pain intensities and functional improvements were measured by the visual analog scale and the Korean Oswestry Disability Index (K-ODI). The change in the lumbosacral disc herniation index (HI) was evaluated through a follow-up MRI three months after the therapy.ResultsThe lower leg pain intensity in group D was lower than that in group N at two months (p=0.028). Additionally, there were significantly lower K-ODI scores in group D at two and three months (p=0.023, 0.019) than in group N. The change in HI after the therapy was -27.6 ± 27.5 (%) in group D and -7.1 ± 24.9 (%) in group N, with a significant difference (p=0.017). Approximately 26.9% of patients in group D and no patients in group N showed over 50% reduction in HI (p=0.031).ConclusionNSDT may be a suitable treatment option for conservative treatment of subacute L-HIVD.Copyright © 2022 Eunjoo Choi et al.

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