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KMID : 1003220000060010251
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Journal of Korean Oriental Chronic Disease
2000 Volume.6 No. 1 p.251 ~ p.260
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Significance of Infrared Thermal Imaging in Conservative Therpy of Herniated Lumbar Intervertebral Disc
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Abstract
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Objectives ; Lumbar disc disease is a common cause of chronic or recurrent low back pain and leg pain. This disease is most likely to occur at the L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels, but upper lumbar levels are involved occasionally. Degeneration of the nucleus pulposus and the annulus fibrosus, which increases with age, may have been asymptomatic or painful. A sneeze, cough, or trivial movement may cause the nucleus pulposus to prolapse, pushing the frayed and weakened annulus posteriorly.
This degenerated changes of disc leads to low back pain and radiculopathy. Lumbar radiculopathy due to disc herniation makes difference in the temperature of lower extremities caused by the changes in general function and autonomic functions of the nerve root. Digital infrared thermographic imaging(DITI) shows noninvasively various abnormal condition by detecting the skin temperature. And asymmetry is imfortant in the diagnosis of disc herniation. The study is carried out to investigate the thermal difference of DITI so as to evaluate the conservative therapy of herniated lumbar intervertebral disc´s patients
Methods ; To evaluate the conservative therapy of the thermographic imaging, the imaging of 47 patients with herniated lumbar intervertebral disc documented by CT scan were analyzed. All the patients had unilateral radiculopathy.
Results ; The thermographic imaging of the 47 patients with unilateral radiculopathy showed that the thermal difference of DITI affects conservative therapy. The more the thermal difference of DITI increased, the more the effect of conservative therapy decreased.
Conclusion ; The thermal difference of DITI can be useful for the conservative therapy and prognosis of lumbar disc disease patients.
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KEYWORD
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