A common treatment for a herniated Disc or “Sciatica” that fails physical therapy and conservative treatment is an epidural steroid injection. Nowadays they are performed under an x-ray machine, called fluroscopy which ensures proper needle placement and safety.
A study from Spine compared steroids/cortisone which is commonly used in epidurals to decrease nerve inflammation with Orthokine. http://www.orthokine.com/Orthokine is a biologic agent known as a Cytokine. It specifically blocks Interlukin-1, which plays a role in inflammation and pathology. Similar to PRP, whole blood is drawn from a patient and placed in a centrifuge aftrewards. However there is an additional step with incubation of the processed blood for 24hrs which creates IL1-RA an antagonist that blocks pain/inflammation.
The study suggests that after 3 months of receiving a series of 3 injections, those with Orthokine injections had more dramatic decreased pain scores than those with cortisone. Furthermore, there are less adverse effects associated with autologous blood versus steroids.
Orthokine and PRP are part of an emerging industry that combine modern technology while maximiizing the body’s natural ability to heal itself. This field is known as Orthobiologics.
Tags: autologous blood, epidural, injection, Sciatica
