Monitoring the treatment of low back pain using non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs and aromatic oil components

Background. The nervous system, in reaction to pain, restrains the range of motion in the affected limb, increasing the amplitude on the healthy side. Thus the asymmetry of a given motion can be used in the quantitative assessment of the impact of pain on the nervous system. The main aims of our study were: (1) to apply Lasegue's asymmetry coefficients, static and dynamic podoscopy, and the test of changed contour to the description of human spinal asymmetry caused by vertebral-nerve root pain in the lumbar spine, and (2) to apply the numerical coefficients of asymmetry to compare the analgesic effectiveness of ketoprofen (P) and vegetable extracts of aromatic oils (A) administered percutaneously by electrophonophoresis. Material and methods. The study population of 42 people was treated with A and P in a double blind trial, and then the asymmetry coefficients before and after therapy were compared. We used a program that analyzes the contour of the patient's back, a podoscopic scanner, a tensometric scanner, and an electromechanical analyzer of Lasegue's test. Results. Treatment A (aromatic oils) was significantly (p < 0.05) more effective (ca. 12.5%) than treatment P (ketoprofen). Conclusions. The regression coefficients ASRB and TB, and the asymmetry coefficients LM, PS, PD, and PG, are suitable for the description of human spinal asymmetry caused by low back-pain. When asymmetry coefficients were used to assess outcome, analgesic treatment with vegetable extracts of aromatic oils (A) was more effective than ketoprofen (P).