title: Pain and function after intradiscal electrothermal treatment (IDET) for symptomatic lumbar disc degeneration.
abstract: The goal of this study was to evaluate the short-term effects of intradiscal electrothermal treatment (IDET) for chronic discogenic low back pain. Twenty consecutive patients with symptomatic degenerative discs were treated with IDET and evaluated preoperatively, and 3 and 6 months postoperatively. Pain was measured with a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) and function was evaluated with the Oswestry score and SF-36 questionnaire. The VAS scores improved by 14 mm on average (P=0.046), but the individual scores show great variation. The Oswestry scores did not improve significantly. The SF-36 showed improvement, but only for the subscales vitality (P=0.023) and bodily pain (P=0.047). Based on these results, we conclude that IDET is not effective in reducing pain and improving functional performance in a sample of 20 patients treated for chronic discogenic low back pain after 6 months follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Orthopedic Research Unit, Sint Maartenskliniek Research, Sint Maartenskliniek PO Box 9011, 6500 GM Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spruit
authors.forename: W C H
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Jacobs
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006979:Hyperthermia, Induced; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy*; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020127:Recovery of Function; D016896:Treatment Outcome