TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital has begun offering ultrasound-guided intradiscal injection therapy to treat chronic back pain, providing a minimally invasive option for patients with herniated spinal discs.

The hospital recently treated a migrant worker from Vietnam who suffered spinal disc damage from years of physical labor, resulting in severe back pain and numbness in his lower limbs. The man was unable to eat or sleep due to the pain and could only walk while hunched over and limping, per CNA.

After evaluation by neurosurgeon Liu Yao-ru (劉要儒), the patient was diagnosed with a herniated lumbar disc. He was advised to undergo an ultrasound-guided intradiscal injection as part of his treatment plan. Following the procedure, the patient’s pain was significantly reduced, and the numbness gradually improved, allowing him to return to work, the hospital said.

Siaogang Hospital said patients with herniated discs may experience back or neck pain, radiating pain, numbness, muscle weakness, and limited mobility. Traditional treatments include medication, bracing, rehabilitation, injections, and surgery.

Liu said that in the past, many patients endured prolonged pain because of concerns about the risks associated with surgery. He said the new procedure, which can be combined with autologous high-concentration platelet-rich plasma, bridges the gap between conservative treatment and the risks of undergoing an operation.

Liu said platelet-rich plasma is extracted from a patient’s blood through high-speed centrifugation and precisely injected into the damaged disc under high-resolution ultrasound guidance. The injections promote tissue repair and regeneration, effectively improving symptoms caused by disc damage, he said.

Liu said the treatment is suitable for patients with chronic disc herniation who have not responded well to medication or rehabilitation for three to six months and who experience nerve compression symptoms, as well as elderly patients who are unsuitable for general anesthesia.

However, he cautioned that the therapy is not appropriate for all patients. Those with abnormal blood coagulation, spinal tumor metastasis, severe spinal stenosis, or spinal fractures may not see improvement from injection therapy alone. He advised patients to consult physicians to determine the most appropriate treatment option.