Conservative Treatment of Thoracic Radiculopathy due to Ossification of the Yellow Ligament in a Young Patient: A case report

Ossification of the yellow ligament (OYL) is a pathologic condition that causes spinal stenosis, which is a form of ectopic ossification. OYL causes compressive myelopathy and radiculopathy. Although the pathogenesis of OYL is still unclear, diffuse mechanical stresses and degenerative changes caused by extreme ranges of motion may be related to the development of OYL in young sportsmen. Here we report an interesting case of thoracic radiculopathy due to OYL in a 35-year-old male amateur judo player who was successfully treated with continuous thoracic patient controlled epidural analgesia and epidural adhesiolysis.

Comparison of Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injection and Lumbar/Caudal Epidural Steroid Injection for the Treatment of Lumbosacral Radiculopathy / 대한통증학회지

BACKGROUND: An epidural steroid injection (ESI) is usually used for the treatment of low back pain with radiculopathy. An ESI can be performed by two procedures: I) a lumbar or caudal epidural steroid injection and II) a transforaminal epidural steroid injection. METHODS: Ninety-three patients, who had undergone transforaminal epidural steroid injection (Group II), and either a lumbar or caudal epidural steroid injection (Group I), were retrospectively studied. The authors assessed the pain, walking, standing improvement and side effects after each procedure, which were evaluated as being very good, good, fair or poor. Data were collected from the patients medical records and analyzed using the chi-squared test. P < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in the pain, walking, standing improvement and side effects between the two groups. However, there was a statistically significant difference in the pain improvement following transforaminal epidural steroid injection in those not effectively responding to an initial lumbar or caudal epidural block in Group II. CONCLUSIONS: A transforaminal epidural steroid injection is a useful alternative to a lumbar or caudal epidural steroid injection for low back pain with radiculopathy.