Heat away back pain

Men's Fitness, March, 2003

Patients who are considering invasive fusion therapy to relieve chronic back pain from a degenerated disc should instead consider a type of nonsurgical heat therapy, according to a report in the journal Spine.

Researchers at the Soar Physiatry Medical Group in Menlo Park, Calif., found that 47 out of 58 patients receiving "intradiscal electrothermal treatment" experienced significant to substantial improvement in both physical functioning and sitting tolerance. The improvement was even greater at a two-year follow-up examination, with the average sitting tolerance increasing 150 percent from pre-treatment levels.

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