Abstract
Compression of a nerve root by a bulging or herniated disc or by epidural fibrosis often causes acute to chronic radicular pain. This can usually be successfully treated by conservative therapy with physiotherapy and passive analgesics. However, if the course of pain is prolonged, it is often possible to reduce pain without surgical decompression by means of epidural neurolysis or the minimally invasive catheter technique according to Racz. This is possible in pathologies of both the lumbar spine and the cervical spine. A special spiral spring catheter is placed via the hiatus sacralis (lumbar spine) or transforaminal (cervical spine) at the site of nerve root compression under image converter control and medication is injected over 3 days. The good results of this technique have now been demonstrated in numerous studies, including prospective randomized and placebo-controlled studies, as well as in reviews.
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Veihelmann, A. (2023). Epidural Neurolysis, Minimally Invasive Catheter Technique According to Racz. In: Jerosch, J. (eds) Minimally Invasive Spine Intervention. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-63814-9_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-63814-9_14
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