Ozone therapy

Ozone therapy represents one of the possibilities of miniinvasiva injection treatment. It is a treatment with so called “medicinal ozone”, which is a mix of ozone and oxygen in precisely defined concentration and volume. Therapeutic effects of the ozone-oxygen mix in safe concentrations of 10-30
ug/ml are used for the ozone therapy.

Ozone effect on various components of root pain:

After application, ozone effects on one hand the damaged intervertebral disc and on the other the damaged nerve root. Release of water from the core of the disc occurs, which reduces the volume of bulged disc and with it the pressure on the nerve root. However ozone has also an analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-swelling effect on the nerve root, which leads to immediate pain relief.

O2-O3 mix application techniques

Paravertebral “classic” application – is application of the oxygen-ozone mix in subcutaneous tissue, muscle or muscle fascia on the level of damaged intervertebral disc
Intraforaminal application – is application of oxygen-ozone mix in the aperture, through which the nerve root exists the spinal canal
Intradisc application – is application of oxygen-ozone mix directly into the intervertebral disc

Chemonucleolysis with oxygen-ozone mix is preformed in the clinic, the patient is observed after the procedure for 2 hours, then leaves for home treatment. After several days he starts the rehabilitation treatment. In case the procedure is not successful or in case of only partial effect, the therapy can be repeated within a month. This treatment with relatively high success rate (70-80%) has an advantage as opposed to the surgery in that the subsequent recovery phase is significantly shorter, it is less traumatic for the patient, shortens the sick leave time, removes the complications tied to as many as 15-20% of the surgery treatments (recurrence of hernia, instability, postoperative adhesions, disc infections) and financially is significantly less burdensome.

Indication and contraindication of the treatment, complications

Indications:

With bulging of the intervertebral disc (C, Th, L), if after 6 weeks of conservative treatment there is no improvement and the clinical findings correlate with the results of the CT/MR examinations

Contraindications:

• Pregnancy
• Increased Hyperthyreosis
• Serious heart disease
• Hypertension
• Coagulopathy

Complications:

• During insertion of the needle: – blood clot, irritation of the nerve root
• Temporary increase of the original painful symptomatic
• Vagal reaction – sweating, hypotension, slowing of the heart, heart rate distortions

Condition before treatment

Condition after ozone therapy application