DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2016.v04i09.024

Pages: 3302-3306

Cervical radiculopathy is a commonly diagnosed disease process seen in middle and elderly population with prevalence of 48% for women and 38% in men. The objective of this study is to see the effectiveness of cervical epidural injection in cervical radiculopathy patients in Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Hospital, Manipur. A randomized controlled study was conducted at Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR), RIMS Imphal for 2 years (August 2013 to September 2015) on patients suffering from cervical radiculopathy. One hundred and twenty six patients of age group of 30-50 years were selected for the study and divided into study group (66 patients) and control group (60 patients). The study group received cervical epidural steroid injection under C-arm guidance along with intermittent cervical traction (ICT). The control group received only intermittent cervical traction. Assessment of Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Neck Pain Disability Index (NPDI) were done before starting the treatment, after 1 week, 1 month and 3 months following the treatment. Out of 66 patients in study group, there was significant improvement of neck pain and function in 89% of patients (p<0.001) whereas in control group there was no significant improvement in pain and function. Only 4 patients out of 60 (6%) are reported to improve in control group which is not statistically significant (p>0.07). Cervical epidural steroid injection is superior to intermittent cervical traction in the management of cervical radiculopathy.