Effectiveness of Manual and Radiofrequency Assisted Posterolateral Microtubular Decompressive Nucleotomy (Disc-Fx) in Patients with Chronic Discogenic Low Back Pain

Effectiveness of Manual and Radiofrequency – Assisted Posterolateral Microtubular Decompressive Nucleotomy (Disc-Fx) in Patients with Chronic Discogenic Low Back Pain

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of manual and radiofrequencyassisted posterolateral Microtubular decompressive nucleotomy (Disc-FX) in patients with chronic discogenic low back pain (CDLBP).

Material and Methods: Fifty-eight patients diagnosed with CDLBP were divided into two groups: twenty-eight patients were operated by Disc- FX and thirty patients (control group) were treated conservatively. The pain- determined disability in both groups was assessed over 6 months by Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (OLBPDQ).

Results: Statistically significant differences between the two patient groups were observed on the first week after the intervention (31.2 SD ± 8.8 versus 37.7 SD ± 14.8, p=0.049), on the first month (24.2 SD ± 6.4 versus 31.6 SD ± 11.1, Ñ€=0.003) and on the third month (12.2 SD ± 5.7 versus 17.4 SD ± 9.2, Ñ€=0.013). There was not statistically significant difference between the two groups on the sixth month.

Conclusion: Our study confirms the short-term effectiveness of Disc-Fx procedure in patients with chronic low back pain. Further studies on its longterm results seem appropriate.