Comparison among different therapeutic techniques to treat low back pain: a monitored randomized study

Idiopathic low back pain can be considered as a chronic condition, characterized by recurrent episodes of pain and functional limitation. The aim of this study is to compare two therapeutic methods to treat this chronic disease: the oxygen-ozone therapy and the diathermy through Tear^® therapy. Two groups of 10 patients each who suffered from postural idiopathic low back pain due to different pathologies have been recruited. All selected patients have been evaluated through spinometry and have been given the Oswestry low back pain disability questionnaire to fill in at the beginning of the treatments and at the end of them with a three-month follow-up. The first group underwent a diathermy treatment through Tecar^® therapy, whilst the second group received an oxygen-ozone therapy treatment through a paravertebral lumbar infiltration; both treatments have been associated with a standard physiokinesitherapy treatment. Data collected through Formetric spinometry show an improvement in both groups, but in the second group (treated with oxygen-ozone therapy+physiokinesitherapy), the improvement is greater (from 6% to 57%) against the first group (from 20% to 38%). In conclusion, the study has cor roborated the validity of both treatments leading to improvement of symptomatology, but while one treatment leads to some relapses after a few months, the second one has a greater healing effect, which preserves over time.