Traumeel® Epidural Injection: A Viable Alternative to Corticosteroids - A Five-Patient Case Study.

Epidural steroid injections are the cornerstone of symptomatic relief in select spinal pain conditions and remain the most common interventional procedure; however, many patients with low back pain cannot tolerate corticosteroids due to multiple inherent side effects and contraindications. Plant-based or homeopathic injectable therapies, such as Traumeel®, may be viable alternatives to corticosteroids in providing pain relief for those patients that cannot use corticosteroids in epidural injections. A chart review case study exploring the effectiveness of Traumeel epidural injections as an alternative treatment to that of epidural corticosteroid injections were performed. We assessed the results of five patients with chronic low back pain who had opted for Traumeel epidural injections for pain relief, report of increasing functional capacity, and the non-expression of side effects. In all cases, pain relief was appreciated at an average of 50% less than chronic pain levels, measured on a numeric rating scale. Additional reports of increased function were consistent throughout all patients in this study. No side effects were reported. For select spinal pain conditions, Traumeel provided 50% symptomatic pain relief and an increase in reported function via epidural injection without a report of side effects.