Poster Presentation Sydney Spinal Symposium 2026

Short-Term Outcomes of Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation for Chronic Lumbar Pain: A Prospective Study of 55 Patients Using Multidimensional Patient-Reported Measures (#142)

Wentian Li 1 , Gayani Petersingham 1 2 , Hasan Jamali 1 2 , Prashanth J Rao 1 2 3 4
  1. Brain and Spine Surgery, BELLA VISTA, NSW, Australia
  2. University of New South Wales, School of Clinical Medicine, SYDNEY, NSW, Australia
  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Norwest Private Hospital, BELLA VISTA, NSW, Australia
  4. Department of Neurosurgery, Macquarie University Hospital, MACQUARIE PARK, NSW, Australia

Abstract

Background: Chronic lumbar facet-mediated pain is a common cause of disability. Cooled radiofrequency ablation (CRFA) targets the medial branch nerves with enhanced lesioning capability and growing clinical use.

Objective: To evaluate 6-week outcomes after CRFA in patients with chronic low back pain using multiple patient-reported outcome measures.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study on 55 patients treated with CRFA for chronic low back pain arising from lumbar facet joints, sacroiliac (SI) joints, or both. Pain and function were assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for back and leg pain, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), EQ-5D-5L index, and EQ-5D-5L health VAS at baseline and 6 weeks post-procedure.

Results: The VAS back pain score decreased from 6.27 ± 2.66 to 5 ± 2.41 (p < 0.01), and the VAS leg pain score improved from 5.62 ± 5.3 to 3.14 ± 2.87 (p < 0.01). ODI scores showed a significantly decrease between baseline (44.1± 17.3) and follow up (37.6 ± 19) (p < 0.01), and RMDQ scores improved from 51.3 ± 23.1 to 59.59 ± 23 (p < 0.001). EQ-5D-5L health VAS increased from 49.10 ± 23.90 to 59.29 ± 21.60 (p < 0.01). The Pain/Discomfort domain showed the most significant improvement (Δ = −0.39, p = 0.003).