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What Is Intradiscal Electrothermal Therapy And How Does It Work?

This is a fairly new technique that is slightly invasive. It is performed in cases when patients experience chronic discogenic back pain. It is believed that the discogenic back pain takes place due to the intervertebral disc degeneration. As indicated by research, discogenic pain occurs somewhere in the range of 28% and 43% of back pain cases in the United States. Moreover, additional researches have demonstrated that discogenic pain is one of the main reasons for low back pain in the United States.

Numerous patients going through discogenic back pain respond to traditional treatment alternatives including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), exercise, and physical therapy. On the other hand, there are a few patients who fail to respond to these treatment strategies. Unfortunately, there are very few treatments accessible for patients amongst these traditional techniques and surgery. Nonetheless, intradiscal electrothermal therapy is a comparative traditionalist treatment strategy that can be offered to patients rather than surgical procedure.

How Does Intradiscal Electrothermal Therapy Work?

As we age or due to an injury, the tears or cracks occur in the walls of the intervertebral disc. These tears can end up filled with small nerve endings and blood vessels, however, in some cases, this turns out to be chronic pain. In principle, the intradiscal electrothermal therapy works in a way to thicken and strengthen the disc wall by applying controlled heat to the disc wall.

To begin with the procedure, a small tube known as a catheter is inserted into the disc with fluoroscopic direction. The catheter is then moved to accomplish a 360-degree entrance. Heat is brought into the disc by means of the catheter, steadily advancing around 150° F to roughly 200° F. The whole intradiscal electrothermal therapy is performed on an outpatient premise and just requires around 60 minutes, with an extra hour of recuperation time.

A few patients state quick relief from discomfort, however, all things considered, noteworthy relief and improvement in function happen as the disc heals. This procedure, for the most part, takes four to twelve weeks. Patients usually come back to a basic routine within one week of the procedure. After around six weeks, progressively strenuous physical activity, in combination with a formal spinal- strengthening program, may start.

Conclusively, intradiscal electrothermal therapy is a generally conservative treatment alternative that is accessible to patients who go through discogenic pain that has been unsuccessful to respond to customary treatment techniques. Different research studies have demonstrated the safety and adequacy of this procedure and have demonstrated positive outcomes for the usage of this technique in patients experiencing discogenic pain.