Steroid-ozone combo shows promise for chronic discogenic low back pain

 A randomized double-blinded clinical study has demonstrated the effectiveness of a treatment approach combining per-paravertebral disk ozone injection with steroids in providing relief for patients suffering from chronic discogenic low back pain (CDLBP).

The study included 120 patients divided into Group A (n = 60), which received per-paravertebral injections of a steroid mixture along with pure oxygen and Group B (n = 160), which was administered a similar steroid mixture combined with ozone. The injections were given once a week for 3 weeks, with a follow-up period of 6 months to assess the sustained effects.

Both Group A and Group B experienced significant reductions in pain, as measured by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores, at the one-week mark compared to baseline. This effect persisted at the three-month and six-month follow-up points. Notably, Group B exhibited even greater improvements in VAS scores at both the three-month and six-month intervals when compared to Group A.

At the 1-week assessment, 95% of Group A and 96.7% of Group B participants achieved favorable outcomes categorized as “excellent plus good” according to the Macnab criteria. Moreover, Group B continued to showcase better results at the 3-month and 6-month milestones, with higher rates of favorable outcomes when compared to Group A.

There were no serious adverse events reported in either group.

Reference
Yang XH, Liu XH, Ma YG, et al. The clinical efficacy of ozone combined with steroid in the treatment of discogenic low back pain: a randomized, double-blinded clinical study. Front Neurol. 2023;14:1078111. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1078111. PMID: 37638178; PMCID: PMC10448056.