Can SUPER LIZER(R) Alleviate the Local Pain Induced by Caudal Puncture?

Lee, Pyung Bok; Seo, Jung Hoon; Sung, Jae Sang; Kim, Yong Chul; Lee, Sang Chul

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that the SUPER LIZER improves the local circulation, facilitates the recovery of damaged nervous tissues, and inhibits substances mediating pain. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of the SUPER LIZER on the local pain induced by an invasive intervention, and acaudal steroid injection.
METHODS
Thirty patients with lower back pain who were candidates for a caudal steroid injection were included in this study. The patients were randomly allocated into two groups. As for the 1st and the 2nd blocks, the SUPER LIZER was applied once during the period, i.e. if the SUPER LIZER was applied after 1st block, it was not applied for the 2nd block (Group 1) and vice versa (Group 2). It was applied one hour after the procedure. In the SUPER LIZER applied cases, the pain was assessed both 30 min after irradiation and 7 days after the procedure. In the SUPER LIZER non-applied cases, pain relief was assessed 90 minutes and 7 days after the procedure. Pain relief was assessed using the verbal numerical rating scale (NRS).
RESULTS
The SUPER LIZER significantly alleviated the local pain induced by caudal puncture 90 minutes after the procedure (early response). However, the effect did not persist when it was checked 7 days after the procedure (late response).
CONCLUSIONS
The SUPER LIZER is believed to have short-term analgesic effects on the pain induced by invasive procedures, which is supported by the improved early response after the procedure. This suggests that the irradiation of the SUPER LIZER on the needling site might temporarily alleviate the procedure-associated pain. Therefore, more clinical experience is required in order to evaluate the effect of the SUPER LIZER when it is used as asingle modality for pain control, and to evaluate its effect on repeated applications.