Objective To explore the effect of nerve root pulse radiofrequency on postoperative residual neuralgia and levels of serum interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH).

Methods A total of 80 LDH patients with postoperative residual neuralgia were selected and randomly divided into traditional group and study group, with 40 cases in each group. The traditional group was given traditional therapy, while the study group was treated with nerve root pulse radiofrequency. The levels of serum IL-1, IL-8 and TNF-α, the condition of painevaluated by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), lumbar functionevaluated by the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) Scores and clinical efficacy were compared between the two groups.

Results At the time points of before treatment and 1 month, 3 and 6 months after treatment, the levels of serum IL-1, IL-8 and TNF-α in both groups decreased gradually, and the levels of serum IL-1 and TNF-α at 6 months after treatment in the study group were significantly lower than those in the traditional group (P < 0.05); compared with the VAS score before treatment, the VAS scores at 1 month, 3 and 6 months after treatment in both groups decreased, and the VAS score at 6 months after treatment in the study group was significantly lower than that in the traditional group (P < 0.05). Before treatment, the JOA scores in the study group and the traditional group were (13.15±1.58) and (13.73±1.75) respectively; at 3 and 6 months after treatment, the JOA scores were (17.13±2.14) and (20.12±2.67) respectively in the study group and (15.28±1.89) and (18.78±2.15) respectively in the traditional group, and the JOA scores in the study group were significantly higher than those in the traditional group (P < 0.05). The total effective rate of the study group was 92.50%, which was significantly higher than 70.00% of the traditional group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion For the LDH patients with postoperative residual neuralgia, nerve root pulse radiofrequency can effectively reduce degree of pain, improve lumbar function, reduce levels of serum IL-1, IL-8 and TNF-α, and alleviate inflammatory reaction.