Good vibrations for bad backs?
October 2006A team in the School of Medicine’s Centre for Rehabilitation Science is carrying out the first study of whether therapeutic ultrasound (TU) can help backache caused by nerve-root pain - commonly known as sciatica.
"Sciatica is an extremely common and disabling condition,” lead researcher Dr Christopher McCarthy said. "However the pain caused by inflammation of the lumbar nerve roots could potentially be reduced with the application of TU, a form of electrotherapy commonly used to speed up resolution of the inflammatory process in soft-tissue injuries.
“The study aims to address the question of whether TU is effective in reducing pain and disability in patients with lower back pain caused by sciatica. This will help us find out more about effective treatment, and help the volunteers involved understand more about their condition."
Dr McCarthy and his team are looking for 30 volunteers aged 22-55 who have had sciatica for less than 12 weeks, are not pregnant and have not had previous spinal surgery. They will receive advice on managing their pain and eight sessions of either therapeutic ultrasound or dummy TU, in a double blind randomised trial where both the volunteer and physiotherapist are unaware of the treatment allocation.
The volunteers will be assessed for pain, disability and general health before and immediately after the trial, and again six months later. If you would like to take part please contact Fiona Stirling, Research Co-ordinator for the Centre for Rehabilitation Science, on 0161 276 6946, or Mr Ioannis Paneris, Senior Physiotherapist at Manchester Royal Infirmary, on 0161 276 4700.
