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Bones / Orthopaedics News
Article Date: 28 Sep 2006 - 0:00am (PDT)
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Slipped disc is a common ailment that causes a great
deal of back pain and nerve pain in the
bone-sciatica-that leads to many sick days home
from work. Sometimes the disorder rectifies itself,
but sometimes a rather complicated operation is
needed. But now it seems that a gentler alternative,
ultrasound, is on its way. The new method has been
developed at Lund University and the University
Hospital at Lund in Sweden. The technique is
described in a dissertation by the physicist Johan
Persson.
The principle is to direct focused ultrasound
directly at the disc that has started to bulge
outward and press against the nerves. When the disc
cartilage warms up, its collagen fibers shrink, so
the cartilage no longer bulges so much. This means
that it no longer presses against the nerves that
cause the pain.
Johan Persson's dissertation work involves the
design of an ultrasound transmitter, temperature
measurements in the laboratory, and simulation of
the temperature distribution in the disc during
ultrasound treatment-some of the key steps in the
development of this new technique. In traditional
slipped disc operations, the damaged disc is opened
up. The operation requires hospital care and a long
period of sick leave, and it also involves a risk of
complications. Ultrasound treatment, on the other
hand, is done with a local anesthetic, takes only
six minutes, and requires no hospital stay. If the
method lives up to its promise, it will therefore be
both more attractive to patients and cheaper for
health care.
According to Björn Strömqvist, professor of
orthopedics, the ultrasound method is intended for
slipped discs that are not too large (so-called
covered, non-perforated hernias). It is being tested
now in a so-called multi-center study in Sweden,
Germany, South Korea, Italy, and Turkey. The study
is still in a very early phase, but preliminarily it
seems that two thirds of the slipped disc patients
treated have been helped by ultrasound.
Under the direction of Björn Strömqvist, the Section
for Orthopedics at Lund will also study whether the
method can be used for so-called disc degeneration.
This is an age-related change in the cartilage discs
of the vertebrae that is even more common than
slipped discs.
Vetenskapsrådet (The Swedish Research Council)
http://www.vr.se
