Treatment of chronic sacroiliac joint pain using Conventional Radiofrequency (CRF) and Pulsed Radiofrequency (PRF): A randomized control study.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of conventional radiofrequency (CRF) and pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) in treatment of chronic sacroiliac joint pain. Study Design: Randomized Controlled Trial. Setting: Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore. Period: 2nd August 2022 to 10th February 2023. Methods: A total sample of 60 patients with SIJ pain was screened for this study. This sample was divided equally but randomly into both study groups; conventional radiofrequency (CRF) and pulsed radiofrequency (PRF). Pre-procedure general information on Visual analogue score (VAS) and revised Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were used to measure the main outcome variables; pain score and physical disability index. Post-procedure information on these two outcome variables was also recorded after 1, 3 and 6 months duration. Paired samples t-test and independent samples t-test was used to assess the effectiveness of these two treatment methods for SIJ pain treatment. Results: The mean pain score in the conventional radiofrequency (CRF) group was reduced to 3.02 ± 0.9 from 8.02 ± 1.13 which is more substantial and statistically significant than pulsed radiofrequency where it was 4.2± 1.31 from 7.98 ± 1.20. Similarly, the conventional radiofrequency (CRF) group showed better performance on average scores of the ODI index (20.2± 6.9) as compared to pulsed radiofrequency (31.2± 8.9) in reducing physical disability in SIJ patients. Conclusion: This study concludes that the existing conventional radiofrequency (CRF) method of treatment can be effectively used in treatment of SIJ with its slight complications.