Articles: back-pain.
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Comparative Study
Effects of time-limited vs unlimited compensation on pain behavior and treatment outcome in low back pain patients.
A common theme in the pain literature is that worker's compensation reinforces pain behavior and adversely influences treatment outcome of chronic pain patients. This study compared 110 chronic low back pain males divided into three groups: 44 receiving no compensation, 27 receiving time-limited worker's compensation, and 39 receiving unlimited social security disability benefits. All patients participated in a multimodal treatment program (e.g. nerve blocks, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, relaxation training, biofeedback). ⋯ In general, however, more worker's compensation and non-compensation patients who were initially not working had returned to work at the time of follow-up compared with the disability patients. These results suggest that time-limited compensation may not affect treatment outcome or interfere with return-to-work chances while unlimited compensation may adversely influence the probability that patients will return to work. These findings support the notion that worker's compensation patients receiving time-limited financial benefits do not necessarily represent a 'problem' subgroup of chronic pain patients.
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Zentralbl. Neurochir. · Jan 1988
Crossed transvertebral puncture to block spinal ganglion in treatment of pain.
A simple and highly efficient percutaneous method eliminating the spinal ganglion and its posterior spinal cord root in treating metameric pain is described. Monitored by X-ray the needle crosses the vertebral canal passing e.g. from the right into the left intervertebral space. The intervention itself is made by a mesocaine alcohol block. The first experience with 12 patients is favourable in postdiscotomic syndromes or lumbar and causalgic pains in lower extremities having no mechanical cause discovered by CT.