Effect of Fibromyalgia on Outcomes of Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injection Treatment in Lumbar Radicular Pain

Lumbar radicular pain is defined as low back and leg pain caused by inflammation in the affected nerve root due to various etiological factors. In its treatment, there are various options such as anti-inflammatory drugs, physical therapy modalities, exercises, epidural steroid injections, and surgery. Epidural steroid injections have also become a frequently applied method in the treatment of lumbar radicular pain unresponsive to conservative treatments. The steroid applied here acts by suppressing the inflammation around the affected nerve root. Epidural steroid injections can be applied in lumbar radicular pain with 3 different approaches: caudal, interlaminar and transforaminal. In the transforaminal approach, a small amount of drug is injected into the epidural space, and in previous studies, reduction in pain and improvement in functionality were found in patients with lumbar radicular pain in the short and medium term. As far as we know, there is no previous study investigating the effect of fibromyalgia on TFESE treatment outcomes. For this reason, the aim of our study is to examine the effect of fibromyalgia on treatment outcomes in patients who underwent TFESE for lumbar radicular pain.