Articles: back-pain.
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Low back pain may arise from degenerative changes in the posterior joints of the lumbar spine. These joints are innervated by a branch of the posterior primary ramus, which follows an anatomically constant course. ⋯ Percutaneous lumbar rhizolysis was carried out under local anesthesia on an outpatient basis in 82 patients, most of whom had multiple level rhizolysis. Rhizolysis was successful in 67% of patients with mechanical low back pain without evidence of disc herniation and nerve-root compression or psychogenic pain, who had not previously undergone an operation for relief of the pain.
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Comparative Study
Transcutaneous electrical stimulation and acupuncture: comparison of treatment for low-back pain.
Twelve patients suffering chronic low-back pain were treated with both acupuncture and transcutaneous electrical stimulation. The order of treatments was balanced, and changes in the intensity and quality of pain were measured with the McGill Pain Questionnaire. ⋯ Both methods, therefore, appear to be equally effective, and probably have the same underlying mechanism of action. Consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods suggests that that transcutaneous electrical stimulation is potentially the more practical, since it can be administered under supervision by paramedical personnel.