Ice, Ice, Baby: Cyroneurolysis as a Novel Approach to Facet-mediated Chronic Lower Back Pain, a Case Study

Cyroneurolysis has been used to treat forms of acute and chronic pain but has not been previously utilized for facet-mediated chronic lower back pain (CLBP). CLBP is conservatively treated first with pharmaceuticals and physical therapy and then interventions like steroid injections, nerve blocks, and radiofrequency ablations can be utilized. Cyroneurolysis applies extreme cold to cause Wallerian degeneration to the nerve. In our case study, cyroneurolysis was performed on a 67-year-old female with facet mediated CLBP at the bilateral L5-S1 medial branches of the dorsal root ganglia. Significant improvement was seen in her pain score, with an original score of 7 decreasing to 0 at rest and 1 with movement immediately, at a three weeks, and six month follow ups. This case study was conducted in consideration and following the Helsinki declaration including permission from the patient involved. All information involving the patient has be de-identified.