Minimally Invasive Widening of the Facet Joints in Cervical Radiculopathy by Modified Needles: Technical Report

Abstract

Surgical treatment and ESI (epidural steroid injection) are widely used forms of treatment for cervical radiculopathy but they are controversial and burdensome for patients. To relief pain fast without side effects, we devised a new minimally invasive treatment method that widens the facet joints to decompress nerve roots and release the muscle spasm in cervical radiculopathy with acupuncture needles with blunt tip and mini-scalpel, and named it modified acupuncture procedure. MAP (Modified acupuncture procedure) was administered for 37 patients (mean age = 53.1 years, follow-up = 14.2 months) with cervical radiculopathy who did not recover from 4 weeks of nonsurgical treatment. We analyzed clinical outcomes of patients before and after the procedure through VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) and NDI (Neck Disability Index). On average, patients received 1.4 MAP (modified acupuncture procedures). The VAS score difference on the day after procedure and at 1 year follow-up was 36.8 ± 26.5 (from 60.1 ± 25.3 at the baseline to 25.3 ± 17.8 at the reading) (P < 0.01) and 31.0 ± 30.4 (29.0 ± 21.8 at the reading) respectively. The NDI value dropped by 19.9 ± 18.3 (from 37.2 ± 19.7 at the baseline to 17.2 ± 15.0 at the reading) (P < 0.01) on 1 year follow up. MAP was found to have clinical efficacy for cervical radiculopathy.