ArticleAME case reports2026
Thoracolumbar pain associated with cervical radiculopathy successfully managed with combined cervical periradicular injection and ultrasound-guided percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation therapy: a case report.
Article in AME case reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Cervical radiculopathy may occasionally present with atypical pain patterns extending beyond the classical cervical and upper-limb distribution, potentially leading to diagnostic uncertainty. The thoracodorsal nerve originates predominantly from the C6-C8 roots and innervates the latissimus dorsi muscle, providing a possible anatomical basis for referred pain involving the posterior thoracolumbar region. This case describes an unusual presentation of cervical radiculopathy manifesting predominantly as severe thoracolumbar pain and its management using a combined interventional approach. Case Description: A 74-year-old woman presented with a 3-month history of severe right thoracolumbar pain, localized hyperalgesia, and painful myofascial tenderness involving the latissimus dorsi region. Baseline pain intensity was 8/10 on the numerical rating scale (NRS), with associated limitation of trunk mobility and sleep interruption. Previous pharmacological and rehabilitative treatments had failed to provide clinically significant improvement. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated multilevel degenerative disc disease with right-sided foraminal stenosis involving the C6-C7 and C7-T1 levels. Ultrasound-guided periradicular steroid injections at the right C6, C7, and C8 levels produced significant pain reduction within 48 hours. Subsequently, two sessions of ultrasound-guided percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS) targeting the presumed thoracodorsal nerve pathway were performed over a 2-month period. At follow-up, pain intensity decreased to NRS 2/10, with improvement in trunk mobility and daily activities. No complications or adverse events were observed. Conclusions: This case highlights the importance of considering a possible cervical origin in selected patients presenting with otherwise unexplained thoracolumbar pain. The favorable clinical course observed after cervical periradicular injections followed by ultrasound-guided PENS suggests that this combined approach may represent a minimally invasive therapeutic strategy in selected patients with refractory cervicogenic thoracolumbar pain. Further studies are required to clarify the underlying mechanisms and determine the specific contribution of PENS to the observed clinical improvement.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.