Dubai: Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has initiated a radio frequency (RF)-based pain relief therapy for patients with nerve-related pains that is able to bring relief for at least a year, it was revealed on the sidelines of Arab Health 2022 in Dubai on Wednesday.
The therapy takes less than four minutes.
Dr Salah Al Ali, consultant of anaesthesia and pain medication and head of pain medicine centre at Rashid Hospital, provided details of the therapy to Gulf News at the DHA pavilion at Arab Health.
“In patients suffering from shoulder, neck, hip, spine or any other joint pain which is triggered by nerve compression, the only alternative was oral pain medication or surgery. While pain medication has side effects and can trigger drug dependency, surgery is the extreme step and in cases where it does not resolve the pain issue; it has either to be repeated or revised,” he said.
“The RF pain reduction therapy that has been in use at the Rashid Hospital for a year now, has shown excellent results in cases of many patients. It either de-enervates or stabilises the nerve which is the source of the pain and resolves the pain for the patient.”
Who can use it?
In order to assess if an individual is a right candidate for this therapy, the patient has to first undergo an X-ray, CT scan or Ultrasound. Once the nerve is determined, the doctor first administers a temporary medication to see if the nerve responds to pain separation. Once the patient reports positive results, the Radio Frequency is administered. “It is a one-session therapy lasting four minutes after which the we do a follow-up with the patient. Patients report relief from a range of 50-70-100 per cent. This relief usually lasts for up to a year and helps restore a good quality of life in the patient,” added Dr Al Ali.
The pain relief is very effective in patients suffering from after effects of cancer, spinal injuries or any other nerve based pains such as sciatica, slipped disc and so on, he said.
