THURSDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Corticosteroid injections in the ischial spine can help relieve long-standing sacral low back pain that begins during pregnancy, according to research published in the Oct. 1 issue of Spine.
Thomas Torstensson, R.P.T., of the Sundsvall Hospital in Sweden, and colleagues analyzed data from 36 women with sacral pain, with onset during pregnancy that persisted for at least six months after delivery. Women were randomized to receive either slow-release triamcinolone and lidocaine or saline and lidocaine, delivered transvaginally around the sacrospinous ligament insertion on the ischial spine.
At four weeks, the researchers found that the triamcinolone group had greater reduction in pain on a visual analogue scale score compared to the saline group (−24 versus +4.5 on a scale of zero to 100). More women in the triamcinolone group also reported pain in fewer locations (16 of 18 versus 10 of 18). Also, in the triamcinolone group, more women had improved pain provocation test results (17 of 18 versus 9 of 18).
"In conclusion, the anatomic region around the sacrospinous ligament insertion at the ischial spine is suggested to be one source of long-lasting sacral low back pain with onset during pregnancy. The pain condition was confirmed by internal examination and was affected by slow-release corticosteroid injection treatment to the ischial spine. If the results represent a true effect, this is a progress in the theory building of pain genesis for this particular pain condition and in development of an effective treatment strategy," the authors conclude.
Abstract
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