Journal of spinal disorders & techniques
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J Spinal Disord Tech · Aug 2012
Claustrophobia: a proxy for psychological distress in patients with back pain.
Case-control study. ⋯ Claustrophobic patients with back pain showed higher levels of depression than nonclaustrophobic patients, with a higher rate of psychological distress. Disability, however, was not higher. The majority of claustrophobic patients did not require surgical intervention. The reasons for this are unclear and require further investigation. Claustrophobia requiring sedation for MRI scans may be a proxy for psychological distress in these patients and psychometric testing is advised during assessment to help with surgical decision making.
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J Spinal Disord Tech · Aug 2012
Nucleoplasty is effective in reducing both mechanical and radicular low back pain: a prospective study in 87 patients.
A prospective study of all patients with either mechanical back pain or radicular back pain who underwent nucleoplasty and were followed up prospectively. ⋯ We concluded that the nucleoplasty technique is a safe and effective procedure for radicular or combined radicular and mechanical low back pain and should be used in selected cases before open surgery after conservative treatment has failed.