Spot Drug Stimulation: а Randomized Study of 90 Patients with Lumbosacral Dorsopathies

Abstract

AIM. A randomized placebo-controlled study was conducted to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of Vishnevsky anesthetic blockade and chondroprotective drug pharmacopuncture in dorsopathies. MATERIALS AND METHODS. 90 patients aged 29–65 years with acute lumbosacral dorsopathy were under observation. Clinical condition dynamics, thermography, tetrapolar rheovasography and results of psychological testing by the methods of «Multilateral personality study» and «Self-activity-mood» were assessed. After determining compliance with the inclusion and noninclusion criteria, the patients were divided into 3 randomized groups (each of 30 patients)differing in treatment methods. In the 1st (control) group, the patients received basic standard treatment, and in the other two groups we additionally performed local medication on the lumbar region and lower extremities on reflexotherapy points. Methodically, anesthetic was injected into the lumbar points according to the Vishnevsky method, and a chondroprotective drug (Group 2) or physiological solution (Group 3, placebo) was differentially injected into the distal points. A course of 10 procedures was carried out in the order of three times a week. Statistica for Windows v.7 program was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS. It was found that upon completion of the treatment there were significant differences in the regression of neurological manifestations, thermographic data and rheographic markers of lower extremity blood flow between the two resultant groups and the control group, in which no significant shifts in the analyzed indices were detected. Both variants of local stimulation, characterized by a pronounced reflex effect, were reliably superior to the basic therapy in terms of efficacy. However, despite the comparable rates of algia reduction in the 2nd and 3rd groups, the level of pain sensations by the end of the treatment course was significantly lower in the patients of the 2nd group that received not only anesthetic blockade in the lumbar region, but also chondroprotector pharmacopuncture. In the same group, more significant shifts were obtained according to the results of psychological testing. The noted phenomenon can be explained by the points of medication application: achieving rapid pain relief due to anesthetic blockade and the overall maximum performance provided by chondroprotector pharmacopuncture. The follow-up data obtained testify to the stability of the achieved positive results under the influence of the reflexotherapy techniques to a greater degree in the patients of the 2-nd group. CONCLUSION. The combined method including anesthetic blockade by Vishnevsky’s method and chondroprotective pharmacopuncture in the region of the lower extremities was highly effective in treating patients with lumbar dorsopathy. In this group, there were notably more significant positive shifts compared to the group that received only anesthetic injections on the lumbar region, according to the severity of the pain syndrome, the results of psychological testing and follow-up data.