As anyone who has had a herniated disc will tell you, it can be a naggingly painful problem. That’s because when the soft center of a spinal disc protrudes through a crack in the exterior casing, the disc presses on nerves, producing pain that can be quite severe.
Although some herniated discs simply heal by themselves over time, others require medical treatment to alleviate their symptoms. One traditional approach to disc herniation is epidural steroid injections, which only provide temporary relief. Another traditional approach is spinal surgery, which alters the anatomy and can lead to future problems such as accelerated disc degeneration.
An effective, minimally invasive alternative to risky surgery is ozone disc injection. Ozone (O3) is a supercharged form of oxygen (O2) consisting of three atoms compared to the standard two-atom structure. As such, ozone possesses powerful features that enable it to shrink the herniated portion of a disc and thus relieve pressure on the spinal nerves.
In one of many recent clinical studies, 79 percent of patients who underwent ozone therapy had a reduction in herniation volume. Of those who avoided surgery, 82 percent were improved at five years and 88 percent were improved at 10 years.
Here’s what you should know about ozone therapy for disc herniations and what to expect from this viable treatment option.
Ozone Therapy vs. Spinal Surgery
Ozone disc injection is a superior treatment to spine surgery in several ways. For one thing, unlike surgery, ozone injections do not reduce the height or alter the normal anatomy of a disc or your vertebrae. Because it is an injection, ozone therapy does not create major trauma to the body. Surgery, on the other hand, irreversibly alters your disc and spinal anatomy, a change that can lead to problems down the road, such as accelerated disc degeneration. In fact, ozone therapy improves the long-term health of the treated disc.
Ozone therapy also treats disc herniations as successfully as surgery but without the related risks or side effects. Whereas there is significant downtime with spine surgery (hospitalization and recovery), ozone therapy is a same-day, outpatient procedure. It is performed with fluoroscopic guidance at a surgery center where local anesthesia and mild sedation are provided. Immediately following the procedure, you can return home to rest and resume your normal activities by the following day and your normal exercise routine within two weeks.
Another advantage of ozone therapy is that it does not bear the risk of “failed back surgery syndrome” which is prevalent in more than 25 percent of those who undergo spine surgery. This syndrome occurs when people have back surgery and back pain persists, or they develop back pain in a new area near the surgical area.
Plus, if necessary, the ozone disc injection procedure can be safely repeated with an accumulatively positive effect – although patients rarely require more than one treatment with an ozone disc injection due to its high success rate.
Herniated Disc Specialist Near You in Caldwell, New Jersey
At Alternative Disc Therapy, triple-board certified physician Dr. Warren J. Bleiweiss provides nonsurgical ozone therapy for disc herniations, as well as other innovative regenerative medicine treatments. Dr. Bleiweiss pioneered the outpatient oxygen-ozone disc injection procedure in the United States and is considered a leading expert in North America on the treatment of disc herniations with ozone injections.
To learn more about relieving your herniated disc pain without the need for surgery or medication, call our practice today at (973) 403-3334 and schedule an in-office or virtual consultation with Dr. Bleiweiss. Additionally, you can use our convenient appointment request form to schedule your visit. We look forward to hearing from you!
