Low back pain from arthritic lumbar facet joints and painful degenerative
lumbar discs is widespread and one of the world's most disabling diseases, consuming
significant health care resources. In this chapter, the authors report using autologous
platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and ozone spinal injections into arthritic lumbar facet joints
and painful lumbar degenerative discs to treat inflammatory pain. A prospective
observational cohort study from January 2016 to March 2020 was performed at an
outpatient clinic of a single academic medical center to assess these injections' safety
and therapeutic effectiveness in conjunction with epidural transforaminal epidural
steroid injections. Results indicated functional improvements measured by Oswestry
Disability Index (ODI) and modified MacNab criteria and pain measured by visual
analog scale leg pain (VAS) at rest and during flexion. Although our study was limited
in scope, and by the observational nature of our research and the lack of randomized and double-blinding, our work suggests that rapid pain reduction and functional gains
may materialize in patients with low back pain due to herniated disc after spinal
injections with ozone and activated PRP.
Keywords: Low back pain, Ozone, Autologous platelet-rich plasma, Spinal injection.
