ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the clinical effect of combining extracorporeal shock waves with pulsed radiofrequency irradiation of the dorsal root ganglia in the treatment of spinal cord-derived abdominal pain. Methods A total of 88 patients were randomly divided into a control group, a shock wave group, a pulsed irradiation group and a combination group, each of 22. All of the patients were given etocoxib and pregabalin medication for 3 weeks. In ad-dition to the drugs, the shock wave group received extracorporeal shock wave therapy, and the irradiation group re-ceived pulsed radio frequency irradiation of the dorsal root ganglia. The combination group received both. A visual an-alogue scale was used to assess perceived pain. The quality of life short form 36 ( QOL-SF36) , Hamilton anxiety scale and Hamilton depression scale were administered to all 4 groups before the treatments and after 1, 4 and 12 weeks of the treatments. The development of diseases, gastrointestinal function, medical treatment and medical expenses of the 4 groups were observed for two years after the treatments. Results After 4 weeks of treatment, the average scores of all four groups in all of the evaluations had improved significantly compared with before the treatment. In combination group′s average results were significantly better than those of the other 3 groups from 4 weeks until 12 weeks after the treatment. During the subsequent two years that group′s gastrointestinal symptoms, hospital visits and medical expen-ses were all significantly lower, on average, than those of the other groups. Conclusion Extracorporeal shock waves combined with pulsed radio frequency irradiation of the dorsal root ganglia has significant clinical efficacy for alleviating spinal cord-derived abdominal pain. It can significantly reduce medical costs and is worthy of clinical pro-motion.