RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: At present, epidural steroid injection is one of the most frequently used methods in the treatment for low back pain.. But this method is nonspecific and results in a widespread of injected agent around the target point. Therefore we thought direct injection to the nerve root is more specific and effective. METHODS: The authors evaluated the effects of lumbar paravertebral steroid injection in 39 patients with low back pain and radicular pain, retrospectively. We used triamcinolone 40mg(1ml) and 0.25% bupivacaine 3ml as injection agents and used pain relief scale(PRS) score for assessment of the effect. RESULTS: One week after injection, the patients of PRS score less than 5 were 65% in spinal stenosis and 85% in herniated intervertebral disc(HIVD). The patients of effective response more than 4 weeks after injection were 48% in spinal stenosis and 68% in HIVD, more than 12 weeks were 22% and 38%, respectively. The patients of PRS score less than 5 were 45% at the time of follow-up study. CONCLUSIONS: We think paravertebral steroid injection is effective in patients with low back pain and radicular pain. Therefore, this technique could be alternative method to epidural steroid injection.