[Cryotherapy for low-back pain].

In animal experiment, cryotherapy was used in 1997 adult patients with acute or chronic low-back pain of various causes. The posterior ramus of certain lumbar nerve was frozen to -140 degrees, -180 degrees C. Through a specially made freezing needle punctured into the place, 1902 patients were treated for 1 time and the rest 2 or 3 times. 1742 patients (87.2%) got immediate relief and resumed pain-free movement right after cryotherapy. After a period of 2.5 years on the average (range 0.5 to 4.5 years) 409 patients returned for re-examination. 371 of them got complete relief and resumed normal work, 15 experienced discomfort after exercise, 13 still had some degree of pain, 4 suffered from recurrence of low-back pain and 6 failed to response to the treatment. However, neither paresthesia over the related skin area nor muscular atrophy and paralysis of the corresponding muscles were found in any case. In brief, in dealing with low-back pain, cryotherapy is a simple, effective method.