[Treatment of patients with lumbar disc prolapse with ibuprofen. A controlled clinical trial]

The justification of employing the anti-inflammatory agent, ibuprofen, in the conservative treatment of lumbar disc prolapse was investigated. Forty-two patients admitted with clinical symptoms compatible with lumbar disc prolapse participated in the investigation. They were allotted double blindly at random to treatment with a placebo or ibuprofen as a supplement to the conservative treatment consisting of rest in bed, traction and mild analgesics. The analgesic effect of treatment in the two groups was assessed with the aid of a visual analogue scale and also the amounts of supplementary analgesics necessary. No significant difference in the pain experienced or employment of supplementary analgesics in the two groups could be registered. This investigation has thus not demonstrated further analgesic effect of ibuprofen administered as a supplement to the conservative treatment otherwise employed for lumbar disc prolapse.