Hypertonic glucose in the treatment of low back pain: A randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Chronic low back pain (LBP) is defined as pain lasting longer than 3 months and is one of the conditions with the most significant social impact. Treatment is complex and includes proliferative agents used in prolotherapy. The mechanism is not known, but osmotic agents (hypertonic solutions of dextrose or glucose) cause cellular rupture and an inflammatory response that releases cytokines and growth factors that lead to scarring and reinnervation. METHODS: Patients with chronic LBP (>12 weeks) who were non-traumatic and unresponsive to at least 1 month of physical therapy were selected. All patients were followed up at a return visit at 1, 3, and 6 months for pain assessment using validated pain questionnaires and scales. RESULTS: Nineteen patients were included in the conservative group and 19 in the glucose group, with the majority being women (57.9%). The patients were between 47 and 59 years of age (39.5%), mixed race (76.33%), married or in a committed relationship (73.7%), and had completed the study for 5.2 years. Overall mean body mass index was 27.3 ± 4.4 kg/m(2) and was higher in the conservative group (28.0 ± 4.7 kg/m(2)). The groups showed differences in Visual Analog Scale scores, with median and amplitude values close to each other between the time points evaluated and increasing values in the glucose group, which had significantly higher values for this scale at the third evaluation (P = .031). When comparing the Rolland-Morris scale scores between the groups, there was a significant difference only in the 3-m assessment (P = .021). In the follow-up assessment, both groups showed significant improvement between T0 and the other assessment time points (P < .05) in all evaluations. CONCLUSION: Both groups significantly improved on the evaluated scales during follow-up. Overall, no effects were attributable to the glucose components or the prolotherapy protocol.