Manipulation under epidural anesthesia with corticosteroid injection: two case reports.

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the combined use of selective epidural steroid injection (ESI) and spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) in treating recalcitrant lumbar radiculopathy. CLINICAL FEATURES: In a first case, a patient suffered from numbness and pain in an S1 dermatome distribution 6 months after undergoing lumbar discectomy. Clinical correlation with advanced imaging led to the diagnosis of L5 intervertebral disc (IVD) syndrome with peridural scar formation. In a second case, a patient suffered from low-back and right-leg pain of 9 months' duration. Various forms of conservative treatment were not effective. A diagnosis of L4 IVD syndrome with radiculopathy was made. INTERVENTION AND OUTCOME: The first patient received conventional treatments, including physical therapy, SMT, fluoroscopically guided ESI and oral medications, with consistent but short-lived response. A team consisting of an anesthesiologist (dedicated spinal injectionist) and chiropractor performed manipulation under epidural anesthesia (MUEA) with corticosteroid injection. Follow-up at 60 days showed marked improvement in visual analogue scale, pain drawing and Oswestry pain and disability index. The second patient received all of the same conventional care except ESI before the combined procedure. The patient underwent MUEA, followed up with eight sessions of stretching and manipulation over the ensuing 3 wk. At 45 days after the combined procedure, the patient had a negative SLR (previously positive at 70 degrees), no leg pain and a marked reduction in back pain. CONCLUSION: This article discusses an integrated procedure that combines two standard treatments that may act synergistically. Our positive results are consistent with other reports, both published and anecdotal. The technique of MUEA warrants further investigation by the health care industry.

Quantification of lumbar nerve root decompression using somatosensory-evoked potentials.

Intraoperative somatosensory-evoked potential (SSEP) data were collected prospectively in a consecutive series of patients with an acute lumbar herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP). Each patient underwent an open limited diskectomy, hemilaminotomy, and partial foraminotomy. The sequence of diskectomy and bony decompression was randomized, and the extent of foraminotomy was standardized. SSEP data were recorded after each operative procedure and were coded for blind interpretation. SSEP tracings were compared with each patient's baseline for changes in latency and amplitude. In the overall study, changes in amplitude and latency produced by diskectomy versus bony decompression were not statistically significant. In the six patients with lateral recess stenosis (LRS), a statistically significant reduction in latency was observed after bony decompression (averaging -2.05 ms) compared with diskectomy (-0.62 ms). In patients with underlying LRS and a HNP, minimally invasive techniques addressing the disc only may be inadequate to decompress a lumbar nerve root.

Transcranial magnetic evoked potentials used to monitor the spinal cord during neuroradiologic angiography of the spine.

A current topic in intraoperative monitoring of the spinal cord is the inability of the somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) to adequately document anterior spinal cord function. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the cortex for assessing corticospinal (efferent) pathways is a developing modality. The authors demonstrate a potential application of TMS as a monitoring medium for use in the neuroradiology suite. Limitations of intraoperative applications of cortical magnetic stimulation associated with cortical suppression are caused by anesthetics and neuromuscular blockers. These limitations generally are not an issue in the neuroradiology suite. In this report, motor improvement was correctly predicted by magnetic evoked potential amplitudes, whereas an SSEP remained unchanged during neuroradiologic angiography.

Saphenous nerve entrapment caused by pes anserine bursitis mimicking stress fracture of the tibia.

Numerous studies have addressed saphenous nerve entrapment at the level of the adductor canal. In this case, we report an entrapment syndrome located further distally occurring as part of an athletic overuse injury. Distal tibial pain, initially managed as a stress fracture, resolved when a pes anserine bursitis was treated. This was associated with return of saphenous nerve potentials along the tibia.

Radial motor nerve conduction studies.

The radial motor nerve fibers were studied in 30 subjects using a technique of surface stimulation in the axilla and the antecubital fossa. Surface recording over the extensor digitorum communis 8cm from the distal stimulation site was done. Mean distal latency was 2.6msec (SD = 0.44), amplitude 11.24mV (SD = 3.5), and conduction velocity 68m/sec (SD = 7.0). Side-to-side comparison using the t-test demonstrated no significant differences. Five subjects were tested 75 more times on two successive days and showed a variation in latency of 0.2msec or less in 74 of 75 trials. Amplitude was consistent during each day's trial, but it varied slightly from one day to the next. Three case reports show the usefulness of the procedure.