A clinical trial being conducted at the University of British Columbia, sponsored by Active-O, is currently recruiting patients suffering from lower back pain caused by a contained herniated disc to investigate a new, non-surgical treatment.
“In our clinical trial, we are exploring a promising, less invasive option to fill this treatment gap that is designed to provide patients with resolution of their back pain.”
The trial is studying a minimally invasive injection of natural gases designed to dissolve a small amount of disc tissue in order to resolve the disc herniation. The treatment does not use a high-temperature device and avoids surgical removal of the tissue. The University of British Columbia is the first site in North America to study this novel treatment.
A meta-analysis of 8,000 patients undergoing this treatment in Europe showed that more than 70 percent experienced improvement in their pain, with a very low rate of complications.
"For patients that have failed conservative therapy and steroid injections, their only options today are prescription medication or surgery," said Peter Munk, MD, Professor and Head of the Musculoskeletal Division in the Department of Radiology at Vancouver General Hospital and the University of British Columbia. Dr. Munk is also the Editor of the Journal of the Canadian Association of Radiologists, and principal investigator of the trial. "In our clinical trial, we are exploring a promising, less invasive option to fill this treatment gap that is designed to provide patients with resolution of their back pain."
The treatment was co-developed by Kieran Murphy, MD, Professor of Radiology at the University Health Network in Toronto.
Contained herniated discs, often called "bulging discs," occur when the outer layer of the disc weakens and the inner core of the disc bulges into the area where the spinal cord and nerves are located. This common condition can cause pain in the legs and lower back.
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