Background: The aim of our observational study is to compare the therapeutic efficacy of combined treatment of oxygen-ozone therapy and oral treatment with alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) + palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and myrrh in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain (sciatica) on radicular disc conflict from disc herniation and the results obtained with oxygen-ozone treatment alone.
Methods: We enrolled 318 patients with the neuroradiological diagnosis of disc herniation performed with computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and symptoms characterized by low back pain complicated by sciatica, which we divided into two groups. Group A was composed of 165 patients who were treated only with oxygen-ozone therapy with CT-guided intraforaminal technique, while the remaining 153 (Group B) have undergone combined oral treatment with ALA + PEA and myrrh. Follow-up visits for the evaluation of the clinical outcome of the treatment were conducted after 60 ± 8 days using a modified version of McNab's method.
Results: At the clinical check-up, 126/165 patients included in Group A had a complete remission of pain (76.4%), while in Group B, 119/153 (77.8%) had a complete remission of pain.
Conclusion: The results highlight how the treatment associated with ozone therapy and oral administration of alpha-lipoic acid + palmitoylethanolamide and myrrh is preferred over the simple treatment with only ozone in such patients in the phase of greatest acuity of the disease, where the pain appears to be better controlled.
Keywords: alpha-lipoic acid; lumbar disk herniation; myrrh; ozone; ozone therapy; palmitoylethanolamide.