A Look At Dextrose Epidurals

Mar 22, 2021

We have covered the two most common conventional, non-surgical treatment options used for low back pain; Steroid Epidurals and Nerve Ablations.

Our conclusion is that both treatments fall short in providing long-term relief.

By now we can agree that the ideal treatment for nerve pain would accomplish the following:

Decrease pain
Improve function
Provide long-lasting or even permanent relief

So does this actually exist? Well, yes! Lets dive into Dextrose Injections…

Study 3: Short Term Analgesic Effects of 5% Dextrose Epidural Injections for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study examined the use of dextrose vs saline as a control. In this study, 84% of dextrose patients had greater or equal to a 50% reduction in pain, while only 19% of the control group did.
By using dextrose, we checked off the first goal – but what about long-term relief and improved function..?

Study 4: Analgesic Effect and Potential Cumulative Benefit from Caudal Epidural D5W in Consecutive Participants with Chronic Low-Back and Buttock/Leg Pain

The authors of this paper picked up where Study 3 left off – by performing a series of 4 treatments spaced 2 weeks apart. The result: Long-lasting pain relief for 12 months with improved function.
Remember how the effectiveness of epidural steroids decreased if the patient had pain for > 6 months? The patients used in the dextrose study had pain for an average of 10.5 years before getting treatment.

To sum it all up:

As you can see from the two studies above, dextrose injections can decrease pain, improve function, and provide both short and long-term relief. Out of the 3 options for low back pain relief, dextrose injections provide long-term, superior results when compared to cortisone epidural or nerve ablations.