Preemptive caudal anesthesia on back pain after lumbar discectomy: a randomized and controlled study.

Objective: In this randomized and prospective research, we aimed to relieve surgical and muscle-related pain early after lumbar disc operations with caudal preemptive analgesia.

Materials and methods: A total of 120 patients with single-level lumbar disc herniation were included in this study. The caudal epidural injection was performed for all patients 20 min before surgery. The patients were divided into three groups. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or tramadol use were recorded. Pre-operative and post-operative pain was interpreted through a visual analog scale.

Results: There was a difference between the groups in all post-operative measurements (p < 0.05), between Group 1 and Group 3, and between Group 2 and Group 3. A statistical significance has been achieved between the groups at the 1^st h, 2^nd h, 4^th h, and 24^th h (p < 0.05). The difference between the pain intensities of the patients at the 24^th h and the 1^st week was statistically significant in Groups 1 and 2 (p < 0.05). Evaluation of the effects of medical treatments reduced the severity of back pain and foot pain.

Conclusion: The preemptive bupivacaine or in combination with methylprednisolone caudal injection is an effective and safe method to reduce post-operative pain and ameliorate functional capacity for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation.