Herniated discs can cause debilitating neck and back pain, making it difficult to function or enjoy life. Many believe surgery is their only solution, yet the risks, recovery time, and uncertainty of spinal surgery are daunting. Fortunately, there’s a breakthrough alternative to spine surgery: ozone disc injections. This revolutionary, non-surgical treatment has been scientifically proven to alleviate pain, restore function, and deliver long-lasting relief with minimal risks. Keep reading to discover why ozone injections are the best choice for herniated disc treatment without surgery.
What is a Herniated Disc?
Spinal discs are cushion-like structures located between each vertebra, functioning as shock absorbers and allowing for movement in the spine. Each disc consists of a tough outer layer (annulus fibrosus) made of collagen fibers and a soft, gel-like center (nucleus pulposus). A herniated disc occurs when the outer layer tears (an annular tear), allowing the gel-like center to protrude or leak out. This can irritate or compress nearby nerves, resulting in neck or back pain, as well as numbness, tingling, or weakness. Herniated discs most commonly occur in the cervical (neck) and lumbar (lower back) regions, as these areas endure the greatest movement and pressure.
What are the Symptoms of a Herniated Disc?
In the neck (cervical spine), common symptoms include neck pain that can radiate into the shoulder and arm. A cervical herniated disc can also cause tingling, numbness, or weakness in the shoulder, arm, or hand. In the lower back (lumbar spine), symptoms often include sharp or shooting pain in the back, buttocks, legs, or feet (known as sciatica). A lumbar herniated disc can also cause weakness, numbness, or tingling in the legs, and difficulty with mobility.
What is the Cause of Herniated Disc?
Herniated discs are often caused by wear and tear, known as disc degeneration. As discs lose their flexibility and hydration over time, they become more prone to cracking or rupturing with even minor strains or movements. Traumatic injuries, improper lifting techniques, repetitive strain, or sudden twisting motions can cause an acute annular tear that can lead to a disc herniation. Factors such as obesity, sedentary lifestyles, and genetic predisposition can also increase the risk of developing a herniated disc.
What is the Standard Treatment for a Herniated Disc?
A herniated disc occurs when the gel-like nucleus inside the disc leaks out, causing pain and inflammation. This triggers the immune system, which tries to heal the disc herniation naturally. At times, the body is successful at healing the herniation on its own. During this time, treatments like pain medications, physical therapy, and epidural injections are commonly used to manage symptoms and support recovery.
However, in many cases, the disc herniation does not heal on its own and requires further intervention. So, how can you fix a herniated disc? While surgery is frequently considered, it is often not necessary. Spine surgery is typically reserved for cases where a large disc herniation causes severe weakness or significant neurological deficits. For the majority of patients, there is another less invasive option: ozone disc injections. This innovative treatment offers a way to fix a herniated disc without surgery, providing pain relief and promoting healing.
Non-Surgical Treatment of Herniated Discs With Ozone Injections
What is Ozone Therapy?
Ozone therapy has been used in medicine for over a century, with its first recorded use by Nikola Tesla in 1896. Since the 1990s, ozone has been widely utilized in orthopedic and pain medicine, particularly in Europe and India. For more than 25 years, ozone injections have been a proven treatment for disc herniations, with thousands of patients benefiting from its effectiveness and strong safety profile.
Ozone (O₃) is a naturally occurring gas found in the atmosphere. In clinical settings, ozone is created using an ozone generator, which splits and rearranges oxygen (O₂) molecules to produce the ozone gas. This “supercharged” O₃ molecule interacts with cells and the immune system, reducing inflammation and promoting healing, making it a powerful tool in medical treatments.
How Does Ozone Work To Fix a Herniated Disc?
Ozone can be injected into the herniated discs using a thin needle that is carefully inserted under X-ray guidance. This treatment is known as ozone nucleolysis. When the ozone is injected into a herniated disc, it does several things: it decreases inflammation in the disc and nearby nerves and tissues, it dehydrates the herniated disc jelly shrinking and retracting it, it stimulates specialized immune cells known as macrophages to eat up some of the spilled disc material and it increases oxygen delivery to the disc supporting tissue regeneration.
What is the Research Evidence for Ozone Disc Herniation Treatments?
Extensive research has shown that ozone disc injections are a safe and effective treatment for herniated discs. A 2010 meta-analysis reviewed 12 large studies involving 8,000 patients and found that ozone injections successfully reduced or eliminated pain and improved function in approximately 80% of patients. The complication rate was remarkably low, at just 0.064% (1).
When compared to spine surgery for herniated discs, ozone therapy is significantly safer. For example, the complication rate for microdiscectomy, a common surgical treatment, ranges from 3% to 6% depending on the technique (2). This makes ozone injections nearly 100 times less likely to cause complications than surgery. Below, we summarize three key studies that highlight the effectiveness of ozone therapy for treating herniated discs in both the cervical (neck) and lumbar (lower back) spine.
Ozone For Lumbar Disc Herniation Study
In 2023, a team of neurosurgeons and interventional radiologists in India published a landmark study on ozone injections for lumbar disc herniation. Over 15 years, they treated 2,089 patients with back pain and sciatica caused by one or several herniated discs, addressing a total of 3,762 discs. Most herniations were at the L5-S1 and L4-L5 levels—the most common sites for lumbar disc issues.
The results showed remarkable pain relief, with patients’ average pain scores dropping from 7.7/10 to 1.4/10 at three months and 1.3/10 at one year. This is an 83% reduction in pain from a simple ozone injection! Their function and disability scores also improved dramatically. The treatment was successful in 85.6% patients, with only 14.4% reporting minimal or no recovery. Follow-up MRIs at six months showed a reduction of the disc herniation in 75% patients, though symptom improvement often preceded any MRI changes. Notably, no complications occurred during the study’s 15-year span, and no patients worsened after treatment (3).
Ozone For Cervical Disc Herniation Study
In 2022, the same group of physicians published their results on the effectiveness of ozone injections for neck pain and cervical radiculopathy (pain radiating to the shoulder and arm). Over a 10-year period, they treated 246 patients and 324 cervical discs, as some patients had multiple herniated discs. Similar to their lumbar spine findings, patients experienced significant pain relief, with average neck and arm pain scores decreasing from 7.8/10 to 3/10 within one month and less than 1.4/10 at six months and one year. The study reported an 85% success rate with no complications. Again, the follow-up MRIs showed reduction of the disc herniation in the majority of the patients (4).
Ozone vs Spine Surgery for Lumbar Herniated Disc Study
A study published in 2022 demonstrated that ozone disc injections are a highly effective alternative to spine surgery, offering comparable outcomes without the risks and collateral damage associated with surgery. Doctors from Greece and Italy compared ozone disc injections to microscopic disc surgery (microdiscectomy). They treated 43 patients with chronic back and leg pain caused by herniated discs, confirmed by MRI.
Among the patients treated with ozone injections, 71% experienced successful outcomes and were able to avoid surgery. Both groups showed rapid improvements in back and leg pain, with average pain levels dropping from 7/10 to 3/10 within the first month, with sustained improvements. Both groups also reported significant enhancements in overall function and quality of life. The study found no significant differences in outcomes between the two treatments, concluding that ozone injections are ‘non-inferior’ to spine surgery. Based on these findings, the authors recommended ozone disc injections as a first-line treatment for lumbar disc herniation (5).
The Bottom Line for Herniated Disc Treatment
Ozone injections have been shown to be a safe and effective treatment for herniated discs. As a minimally invasive alternative to surgery, ozone offers several key benefits: a much shorter procedure and recovery time, no need for general anesthesia or hospitalization, and no reliance on narcotic pain medications. Additionally, ozone therapy is more affordable than surgery and avoids cutting into tissue, preserving the health and integrity of the muscles and bones in the spine.
If you’re living with the pain and limitations from a herniated disc, ozone disc injections offer a proven, non-surgical solution that can reduce pain, improve function, and help you regain your quality of life. At Integrative Rehab Medicine, we specialize in advanced, minimally invasive treatments like ozone therapy to help our patients get back to living pain-free. To schedule a consultation and discover how ozone injection treatment can be the right choice for you. Contact us today!
References:
- Steppan, Jim, et al. “A metaanalysis of the effectiveness and safety of ozone treatments for herniated lumbar discs.” Journal of vascular and interventional radiology 21.4 (2010): 534-548.
- Bombieri, Filippo Federico, Roozbeh Shafafy, and Sherief Elsayed. “Complications associated with lumbar discectomy surgical techniques: a systematic review.” Journal of Spine Surgery 8.3 (2022): 377.
- Ghatge, Sharad Balasaheb, et al. “Ozone disc nucleolysis in the management of herniated lumbar intervertebral disc: A retrospective analysis.” Journal of Craniovertebral Junction and Spine 14.1 (2023): 16-23.
- Ghatge, Sharad Balasaheb, et al. “Ozone disc nucleolysis in cervical intervertebral disc herniation: A nonrandomized prospective analysis in 246 patients.” Journal of Craniovertebral Junction and Spine 13.2 (2022): 114-120.
- Kelekis, Alexis, et al. “Intradiscal oxygen-ozone chemonucleolysis versus microdiscectomy for lumbar disc herniation radiculopathy: a non–inferiority randomized control trial.” The spine journal 22.6 (2022): 895-909.
