Role of Radiofrequency in the Management of Chronic Low Back Pain

Abstract

ow back pain (LBP) is related to disability and work absence and accounts for high economical costs. The management of LBP comprises a range of different intervention strategies including surgery, drug therapy, and non-medical interventions. Failed back surgery syndrome is a common problem with enormous costs to patients, insurers, and society, defined as persistent back and/ or leg pain after spine surgery. The etiology of failed back surgery can be poor patient selection, incorrect diagnosis, suboptimal selection of surgery, poor technique, failure to achieve surgical goals, and/or recurrent pathology. In addition to causing localized spinal pain, facet joints may refer pain to adjacent structures. Radiofrequency neurotomy has a reasonable result in conservative management of low back pain with variable results, with good values regarding the pain perception and also functional abilities. To study the benefit from radiofrequency neurotomy for reasonable period evaluating the patient with chronic low back pain, this study was conducted as a prospective study at El Galaa Military Hospital. It included twenty-five patients;