The procedure vastly improves the effectiveness of lower back pain treatment for patients who qualify, with up to 75 percent of patients obtaining relief from pain and returning to work and other activities of daily living. Candidates for SpineCath IDET therapy must be suffering from chronic low back pain for at least six months, experience degeneration in one or two discs, and fail to respond to conventional treatment. Of the estimated 5 million sufferers of low back pain, nearly 30 percent can benefit from IDET therapy. IDET therapy is an alternative to other treatments such as a nerve block or spinal fusion, which is an invasive, surgical procedure involving more pain, a longer recovery period, lower success rates, and multiple complications, Dr. Palavali noted. With IDET Therapy, a local anesthetic is given and patients walk the same day, returning to work within three or four days.
Improvement can continue for up to nine months.
Most patients experience a full recovery within 6 to 8 weeks. Ten to 15 percent of patients may require a second outpatient treatment. The outpatient procedure is completed in about one hour with patients spending another hour at the hospital before leaving for home. IDET Therapy heats collagen within a disc, allowing it to shrink while the disc returns to its proper shape without bulging.