Introduction:Coccydynia refers to pain in the terminal segment of the spinecaused by abnormal sitting and standing posture. Coccydynia is usually managed conservatively, however in nonresponsive patients, ganglion impar block is used as a good alternate modality for pain relief. This article studies the effect of ganglion impar block in coccydynia patients who were not relieved by conservative management.Materials and Methods:The study was carried out at the pain clinic in the departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Radiology in a tertiary centre in India. It was a prospective hospital-based study, in which 35 patients with coccydynia were considered for fluoroscopy-guided trans-sacro-coccygeal ganglion impar block. The outcome assessment was done using Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores for a follow-up period of 6 months. Of the 35 patients, 4 were lost to follow-up. Analysis was done usingthe data from the remaining 31 patients.Results:The mean age of the patients suffering from chronic coccydynia was 42.9 ± 8.39 years, and patients' age range was 28–57 years. The mean score of NRS and ODI before the procedure was 7.90 ± 0.16 and 48.97 ± 1.05, respectively. The interquartile range (IQR) of NRS score remained almost unchanged during pre and postprocedure, however, IQR of ODI varied during the pre and post procedural events. The NRS and ODI scores immediately after the procedure decreased drastically showing significant pain relief in patients, and the difference of scores till the end of study was statistically significant.Conclusion:This study recommends the trans-sacro-coccygeal “needle inside needle” technique for local anesthetic block of the ganglion impar for pain relief in patients with coccydynia. This should be integrated with rehabilitative measures including ergonomical modification for prolonging pain free period.

The aim of this study is to compare the treatment effectiveness of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) and phenol blocks in the management of lower limb spasticity and to measure improvement in gross motor functional outcome in children with cerebral palsy (CP). This is a hospital-based prospective, noncontrolled randomized study that took place in a tertiary care center. A total of 61 ambulatory children with CP spastic diplegia, aged from 4 to 10 years, were randomly divided into two groups and included in this study. Twenty-eight children with CP received BTX-A injections and 33 received phenol motor point blocks. The measures performed were as follows: outcome assessment spasticity by the Modified Ashworth scale (MAS), active range of motion (AROM) of lower limb joint by goniometer, and functional improvement by Gross Motor Function Measures (GMFM). Postinjection follow-up done at 2, 6, 12, 24, and 48 weeks. Significant improvement in reduction of spasticity, increased AROM of all joints of lower limbs, and improvement in functional outcome were observed in CP with spastic diplegia after BTX-A injections as compared with the phenol motor point block group. There was no significant side effect after BTX-A injections as compared with phenol injections. BTX-A injections showed superior treatment effects in the reduction of spasticity and improvement in AROM and functional outcome measures with spastic diplegia as compared with phenol blocks. BTX-A injections also revealed fewer clinical side effects and were well tolerated by children with CP.

BACKGROUND:Plantar fasciitis (PF) a common chronic musculoskeletal pain routinely diagnosed and treated in rehabilitation practices. When conservative management fails in this degenerative disease, local injections of corticosteroids, platelet rich plasma (PRP), botulinum toxin, extracorporeal shockwave therapy, surgical release are used. In our prospective randomized pilot study we compared the regenerative efficacy of Platelet Rich Plasma vs Kinesiotaping with phonophoresis who were resistant to conservative management of PF.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Sixty-four chronic plantar fasciitis patients nonresponding to conservative management were evaluated for two interventions.36 patients received ultrasound guided 2.5 ml autologous platelet rich plasma (PRP) injection and 28 participant received phonophoresis and total10 Kinesiotaping on alternate days. 54 participants 33 in PRP intervention group and 21 in KT group were analyzed, by Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), plantar fascia thickness (ultrasound guided) and disability and activity limitation measured by foot function index in every two weeks up to 6 months.RESULTS:Post intervention assessment at 2 weeks revealed improvement in pain relief was better in Kinesiotaping group (NRS-4.619) as compared to PRP group (NRS- 6.061). But evaluation at 12 and 24 weeks showed statistically significant improvement in NRS and Foot function index in PRP group than in Kinesiotaping. Similarly, at the end of 24-week improvement in foot function index (FFI) was more in PRP group (P<0.0001). At end of 12 and 24 weeks there was significant reduction in plantar fascia thickness in PRP group (p<0.0001) as compared to KT group (p<0.05).CONCLUSION:Our study concluded that therapeutic quality autologous PRP injection (1x106 platelets/μl) has regenerative effect with long and better efficacy in pain management of chronic recalcitrant plantar fasciitis than Phonophoresis and Kinesiotaping.

IntroductionPerineural corticosteroid injection is an extensively used and accepted treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). However, to this date, there is no guideline as to which corticosteroid has to be used as the standard treatment for CTS. Triamcinolone acetonide is a commonly used particulate steroid that can cause permanent nerve injury if it is accidentally injected into the nerve. Conversely, dexamethasone sodium phosphate is a nonparticulate steroid that would not cause permanent nerve damage following accidental injection. MethodsMild to moderate cases of CTS, confirmed by nerve conduction studies (NCS), with symptoms greater than three months were recruited. The participants received one session of ultrasound-guided perineural injection by the in-plane axial ulnar-sided approach with 4 mL of either dexamethasone (dexamethasone sodium phosphate 8 mg (2 mL) + 2 mL 0.5% bupivacaine) or triamcinolone (triamcinolone acetonide 40 mg/mL (1 mL) + 2 mL 0.5% bupivacaine + 1 mL normal saline) solution. The parameters assessed were Phalen's test time (in seconds), visual analog scale (VAS), and Boston carpal tunnel questionnaire (BCTQ) scores at baseline and two and four months, and NCS changes in sensory nerve conduction velocity (SNCV) and distal motor latency (DML) of the median nerve at baseline and four months. Statistical analysis was conducted using the software SPSS version 26.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA). Independent samples t-test was used for comparison between groups and the paired t-test for improvement within each group. P values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. ResultsThe mean age was 42.64 ± 10.99 in the dexamethasone and 45.22 ± 10.602 in the triamcinolone group cases (P = 0.324). There were 58 females (84.06%) and 11 males (15.94%). Each of Phalen's test time, VAS, and BCTQ scores significantly improved within both dexamethasone and triamcinolone groups at the second and fourth months after injection (P < 0.05). The NCS parameters (SNCV and DML) also significantly improved in both groups at the fourth month after the injection (P < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the improvement of Phalen's test time between the two groups (P = 0.745), VAS score (P = 0.319), BCTQ score (P = 0.137), SNCV (P = 0.511), or DML (P = 0.753). Postprocedural pain lasted significantly longer in the triamcinolone group (P < 0.05). No major complications were noted in either of the two groups. ConclusionDexamethasone is as effective as triamcinolone in improving the symptoms of CTS and can be used as a safer and more effective alternative in the treatment of mild to moderate CTS cases.

Gingival overgrowth (GO) is one of the common findings in clinical practice. There could be several causes including drugs associated with the GO. Carbamazepine (CBZ) and amlodipine are the drugs which are infrequently documented as a cause in inducing the gingival hyperplasia. Certain drugs in the body fluid might limit the population of plaque bacteria and alter their metabolism that in turn induce the inflammatory mediators and also activate the genetic and biochemical factors responsible for gingival fibroblast growth. Drug-induced GO is a side effect with a multifactorial etiology that seems to orchestrate the interaction between drugs and fibroblasts in the gingiva. We describe a case of trigeminal neuralgia with hypertension treated with multiple drugs including amlodipine and CBZ. Although amlodipine is known to be infrequently associated with GO, an association of CBZ with GO is even rarer. Causality analysis on the World Health Organization Uppsala Monitoring Centre's scale indicates a probable association with offending drugs.