ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of local steroid injection and prolotherapy on the iliac crest pain syndrome (ICPS) in patients with nonspecific low back pain. METHOD: 44 patients with ICPS were chosen randomly. The treatment groups were divided into two. The first group received a mixture of triamcinolone and lidocaine. The second received with a mixture of dextrose and lidocaine. The patients in each group were injected once a week over 4 weeks. The effectiveness of treatment was evaluated by a visual analogue scale (VAS), a pressure threshold and patient's life activities with modified Oswestry questionnaire before injection, 30 minutes, 1 week, 4 weeks and 3 months later after injection respectively. RESULTS: VAS, pressure threshold and patient's life activities of two groups were all improved at 30 minutes, 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after injection compared with those of pre-injection, and there was no significant difference between groups. CONCLUSION: The low back pain on ICPS can be significantly improved by local steroid injection and prolotherapy equally. Therefore, patients with risk of steroid injection could be treated by prolotherapy.