Interspinous Ligament Lidocaine and Steroid Injections for the Management of Baastrup's Disease: A Case Series

STUDY DESIGN Prospective study. PURPOSE To examine the long-term effects of interspinous ligament injections of local anesthetics and steroids for the treatment of Baastrup's diseases. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE Baastrup's disease is associated with axial low back pains. Baastrup's disease has been more recently described as the "kissing spinous processes" disease. Several authors have reported methods for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. However, there has been only one report of patients receiving interspinous ligament injections of agents for the treatment of Baastrup's disease. METHODS Seventeen patients showed severe low back pains between spinous processes at L3-L4 or L4-L5. X-ray imaging, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging revealed kissing spinous processes, consolidation of spinous process, or inflammation of an interspinous ligament. Pain reliefs after lidocaine and dexamethasone administration into interspinous ligament as therapy for low back pains were being examined and followed up. RESULTS Low back pain scores significantly improved immediately after injection of the agents into interspinous ligaments. At final follow-up (1.4 year), low back pain scores significantly improved as compared with before the treatment. CONCLUSIONS Findings from the current study indicate that lidocaine and dexamethasone administration into interspinous ligament in patients diagnosed with Baastrup's disease is effective for managing the pain associated with this disease.