The Efficacy of Intramuscular Calcitonin Injection in the Management of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective, cross-sectional, non-randomized study. PURPOSE: To assess the effectiveness of intramuscular calcitonin injection in the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: LSS, manifesting as chronic low back pain and neurogenic claudication, is a chronic condition with an increasing incidence in the elderly population having inadequate effective conservative treatment options. METHODS: In this study, 36 patients with LSS who were diagnosed based on the clinical findings and magnetic resonance imaging were included. Patients received 100 IU of calcitonin per week for one month and were evaluated before and after treatment using the Oswestry disability index (ODI) questionnaire and visual analogue scale (VAS). Before treatment, the patients were divided into two subgroups based on their ODI results: patients with mild to moderate low back pain (disability, 0%-40%) and patients with severe or very severe low back pain (disability, 40%-100%). RESULTS: In patients with mild to moderate low back pain, there were no significant changes in the ODI and VAS after calcitonin injection. But in patients with severe or very severe low back pain, pain severity, personal functions, ability to lift and carry objects, time interval between standing and initiation of pain, social life, disability percentage, and VAS were significantly improved after treatment with calcitonin. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that an intramuscular injection of low dose of calcitonin may have some beneficial effects on the pain due to LSS, especially in patients who suffer from severe or very severe low back pain.