European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: Low back pain (LBP) due to disc herniation is a frequent cause of back pain. It is a debilitating condition having enormous medical and socio-economic effects. Epidural injection of steroids has been used to treat LBP for many decades.
Aim: The aim of this study was to find Role of caudal epidural steroid injections in the management of chronic low backache.
Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted in the Department of Orthopaedics,Vardhman Institute of Medical Sciences,Pawapuri, Nalanda, Bihar India from March 2017 to March 2018. Total 100 Patients with chronic low back pain and sensory symptoms not responding to conservative management were include in this study. They were evaluated clinically before and after epidural steroid on the basis of pain, unrestricted activities of day to day life and work performance on the basis of visual analogue scale and oswestry disability index. Results: Total 140 ESI were given to 100 patients. 70 patients were given single injection, while 20 had two and 10 received three ESI doses. We included total 100 cases in this study, 43 were males and 57 females with chronic LBP. Out of 100 cases of LBP, Lumbar disc herniation was seen in 31, lumbar canal stenosis in 12 and degenerative disc disease in 18 cases while 39 cases had non-specific LBP. Follow up was done at one week, one month and then every three months up to twelve months of treatment (post third ESI 9 months). Mean pre ESI, VAS was 7.11 while it was 4.83 at one year of treatment. Mean pre ESI, ODI score was 59.09 while after twelve months of treatment with ESI it was 43.36 at one year. We obtained excellent results in 25 percent, good in 39 percent, fair in 21 percent while poor in 15 percent patients. Conclusion: ESIs are very effective and significantly reduce pain in patients with chronic function-limiting LBP.