A Comparative Study of Outcomes of Treatments for Radiculopathies Arising out of Single Level Disc Prolapse of Lumbar Spine Treated with Epidural Steroid Injections Versus Conservative Management
Introduction: Low back pain is one of the major causes of disability in people in 4th and 5th decade of life. Lumbar spinal stenosis can induce radiating pain in the lower limbs. Pain can be caused due to mechanical compression or nerve root irritation due to prolapse which causes radiculitis. Hence, in early disc degenerations, apart from conservative management, Epidural steroid injections have been used as an add-on in treating radiating pain as they have a potent anti-inflammatory property. Materials and method: A total of one hundred patients with low back pain with unilateral or bilateral radiculopathy with documented with lumbar degenerative disc disease without any evident instability or neurodeficit were considered for our study. Patients were randomized and selected for further intervention for conservative management or for epidural steroid injections under fluoroscopic guidance. Results were evaluated by comparing the Visual analogue scale scores and Modified Roland Sciatica Scores at the end of six months.
