Jan Van Zundert, Jacob Patijn, Alfons Kessels, Inge Lamé, Hans van Suijlekom and Maarten van Kleef
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of pulsed radiofrequency treatment for cervical radicular pain. Twenty-three patients, out of 256 screened, met the inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned in a double blind fashion to receive either pulsed radiofrequency or sham intervention. At 3 months the pulsed radiofrequency group showed a significantly better outcome with regard to the global perceived effect and visual analogue scale. The quality of life scales also showed a positive trend in favor of the pulsed radiofrequency group. The need for pain medication was significantly reduced in the pulsed radiofrequency group after six months. The authors conclude that these study results are in agreement with the findings of their previous clinical audit that pulsed radiofrequency treatment of the cervical dorsal root ganglion may provide pain relief for a limited number of carefully selected patients with chronic cervical radicular pain as assessed by clinical and neurological examination.
Pain, Volume 127, Issues 1-2,