What is ozone injection?
Ozone injection, also known as ozone disc therapy or ozone nucleolysis, is a medical procedure that involves injecting ozone gas into the intervertebral discs of the spine. It is primarily used as a treatment for disc-related conditions, such as herniated discs or degenerative disc disease. The injection aims to alleviate pain and promote healing in the affected disc.
How is the experience of taking this treatment?
Here is a general overview of how ozone injection is typically performed at Docube pain clinic:
You will be positioned comfortably on an examination table, usually lying face down
The injection site is cleaned and sterilized to minimize the risk of infection.
A local anesthetic will be administered to numb the area around the injection site.
Disc Localization: Using X-ray guidance, I will locate the specific intervertebral disc that requires treatment.
A thin needle will be inserted into the targeted disc through the skin and soft tissues of the back. The needle is carefully guided into the disc space under X-ray.
Ozone Injection: Once the needle is in place, a controlled amount of medical-grade ozone gas will be injected into the disc. Ozone is a freshly made from pure oxygen just before the injection. It releases pure oxygen in the disc.
Needle Removal: After the injection, the needle will be gently withdrawn, and a bandage may be applied to cover the injection site.
The procedure takes around 15-20 minutes, You woulbe be able to go home in 30minutes.
How safe is it?
Very safe. The needle is constantly seen under an x-ray tv and ozone is injected only after confirming its placement. The is a slight chance that the needle will touch a nerve, but since you will be fully awake, you will tell me that a slight shock is felt. I will withdraw the needle immediately and take a slightly different angle to avoid the nerve.
In case the needle encounters an artery or vein, there is blood in the needle. i will again take a different route in that case.
The othere structures that the needle can touch are the bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments etc. The needle touching them poses no risk.
When can I see the results?
Ozone takes 3-4 weeks to shrink the disc. In case the sciatica is very severe, a minimal dose of steroid with local anesthetic will be given when the needle comes out of the disc after the ozone injection. This decreases the inflammation of the nerve and relieves pain within 1-2 days.
Are the results permanant?
The shrinking of the disc is permanant, the pain will not come from the same disc again. back strengthening with exercises should be done so that the other discs do not bulge in the future. The same strengthening has to be done even after surgery to avoid pain in future.
