Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Sep;11(3):109-12.
doi: 10.14245/kjs.2014.11.3.109. Epub 2014 Sep 30.

The efficacy of pulsed radiofrequency treatment of cervical radicular pain patients

Young Moon Yoon  1 , Seong Rok Han  1 , Seung Jun Lee  1 , Chan Young Choi  1 , Moon Jun Sohn  1 , Chae Heuck Lee  1
Affiliations

The efficacy of pulsed radiofrequency treatment of cervical radicular pain patients

Young Moon Yoon et al. Korean J Spine. 2014 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: Cervical radicular pain is defined as pain arising in the arm caused by irritation of a cervical spinal nerve or its roots. Although many treatment modalities are described in the literature, the available evidence for efficacy is not sufficient to allow definitive conclusions. The goal of this study was to establish the benefits and prognostic factors of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) on the adjacent cervical dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of cervical radicular pain patients.

Methods: A retrospective study of PRF treatment of patients with cervical radicular pain was carried out. Two times diagnostic block of cervical DRG were performed before PRF. PRF was applied for 2 minutes at a setting of 2 Hz and 45 V by two times on the same targets, with the end point being an electrode tip temperature 42℃. Numerical rating scale (NRS) score was evaluated post-treatment 2 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months, which were compared with pretreatment value. A successful outcome was defined that NRS change was improved more than 50% at 6 months.

Results: The mean age was 54 years. The success rate was 68%(15/22) after six months of follow-up. PRF induced complications were not observed. Between success and failure group, we do not find any positive outcome prognostic factor. Interestingly, PRF treatment on foraminal stenosis is better outcome than herniated cervical disc.

Conclusion: PRF on adjacent cervical DRG is effective and safe treatment option for cervical radicular pain patients. However, more long-term follow up and larger patients are needed to establish effectiveness PRF treatment on cervical radicular pain patients.

Keywords: Cervical dorsal root ganglia; Cervical radicular pain; Pulsed radiofrequency.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The results of four groups (Excellent, Good, Fair and Poor) changes in average numerical rating scale scores after PRF treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Benyamin RM, Singh V, Parr AT, Conn A, Diwan S, Abdi S. Systematic review of the effectiveness of cervical epidurals in the management of chronic neck pain. Pain Physician. 2009;12(1):137–157. - PubMed
    1. Chao SC, Lee HT, Kao TH, Yang MY, Tsuei YS, Shen CC, et al. Percutaneous pulsed radiofrequency in the treatment of cervical and lumbar radicular pain. Surg Neurol. 2008;70(1):59–65. - PubMed
    1. Choi GS, Ahn SH, Cho YW, Lee DG. Long-term effect of pulsed radiofrequency on chronic cervical radicular pain refractory to repeated transforaminal epidural steroid injections. Pain Med. 2012;13(3):368–375. - PubMed
    1. Kroll HR, Kim D, Danic MJ, Sankey SS, Gariwala M, Brown M. A randomized, double-blind, prospective study comparing the efficacy of continuous versus pulsed radiofrequency in the treatment of lumbar facet syndrome. J Clin Anesth. 2008;20(7):534–537. - PubMed
    1. Slappendel R, Crul BJ, Braak GJ, Geurts JW, Booij LH, Voerman VF, et al. The efficacy of radiofrequency lesioning of the cervical spinal dorsal root ganglion in a double blinded randomized study: no difference between 40 degrees C and 67 degrees C treatments. Pain. 1997;73(2):159–163. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources