THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FORAMINAL ROOT BLOCK IN RELIEVING SCIATIC PAIN DUE TO LUMBAR DISC HERNIATION.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical profile, pain improvement, and the need for surgical interventions in patients undergoing transforaminal block with the use of corticosteroids and anesthetics.

Methods: This is a prospective, randomized, double-blind study with 45 patients with unilateral radicular pain in their lower limbs and a single-segment lumbar disc herniation diagnosis. In the intervention group, transforaminal blocks with bupivacaine, dexamethasone, and clonidine were applied and in the control group, distilled water and bupivacaine. The Oswestry questionnaire was applied.

Results: We included 24 female (53.4%) and 21 male patients (46.6%). Of those with an occupation, 85.71% (n = 30) were relieved from their duties due to their illness and 14.29% (n = 5) continued to work with limitations. Those who underwent transforaminal block with an injection of corticosteroids, clonidine, and anesthetics showed immediate relief. However, such effect failed to alleviate patients' symptoms after three weeks. We observed that 52% of patients showed varying degrees of improvement. The control group experienced mild pain relief after one week, which also failed to last after three weeks. Moreover, 50% of patients improved in varying degrees.

Conclusion: Further studies with larger samples, new epidemiological data, and longer follow-ups are necessary to validate our hypotheses. Level of Evidence II, Prospective Study.