Mechanical Diagnosis and Treatment and/or Steroid Injections for Lumbar Radiculopathy

Summary

Aim 1: The primary aim of this study is to test the feasibility of Mechanical Diagnosis and Treatment (MDT) +/- transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TESI) on pain and disability in patients awaiting physiatry consult for lumbar radiculopathy secondary to lumbar disc herniation, compared to usual care within the current healthcare system in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Hypothesis: the investigators hypothesise that centralisers treated with MDT and non-centralisers receiving TESIs + MDT will have demonstrate reductions in self-reported pain and disability, compared to usual care controls. Aim 2: the investigators will also describe the potential impact on healthcare resources by tracking surgical rates and self-reported healthcare utilisation during the study period. Hypothesis: based on predicted reductions in pain and disability, the investigators hypothesise that there will be a trend toward overall less healthcare utilisation (including surgery) in the MDT guided group compared to the surgical wait list group.

Timeline

Start

2017-10-01

Primary completion

2020-01-31

Completion

2020-01-31

Drugs

Indications