OZONE THERAPY

OZONE THERAPY

At a time when medical professionals across the world are debating the medical value of ozone therapy, some city hospitals claim they have already treated several patients suffering from slipped or herniated discs pain using the technique. Doctors at GB Pant hospital, the first government hospital to start offer this facility four months back, said they have treated 100 such patients using the ozone -oxygen gas mix that shrinks tissue and reduces pain.According to Dr Ajay Sharma, head of the neurosurgery department at G B Pant hospital, normally, the treatment involves physiotherapy and painkillers but many people end up needing surgery. "With ozone therapy, surgery can be delayed or avoided. Patients will not have to endure excruciating pain," he said.The ozone gas contains powerful antioxidant which stimulates the immune system. It relaxes blood vessel cells and improves circulation, killing all sorts of bacteria, virus and fungi, thus reducing the pain caused due to discs prolapse. Discs are the protective circular pads of cartilage that sit between the vertebrae in the spine, where they act as shock absorbers.Due to age-related degeneration, heavy-lifting and prolonged desk jobs it gets damaged and inflamed, pressing against nearby nerves and causing pain and numbness.

Dr Vikram Sheel Kumar, Harvard pathologist and co-founder of Doctor Kares hospital in Gurgaon said they have been using ozone therapy to treat patients for over a decade.Ozone gas is found naturally in the Earth's atmosphere where it shields us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. However, for treatment purposes, it's manufactured in a laboratory in liquid form and then combined with oxygen.Dr Pradeep Muley, head and senior consultant intervention radiologist, said that slipped disc patients suffering from major neurologic deficit correlated to disk disease are advised surgery though."Age-related slipped disc problems occur mainly in people above 50 years of age. But due to sedentary lifestyle, long-hour desk jobs, lack of exercise even young people are reporting with the disease these days," said Muley. Proponents of the ozone therapy claim it can help cancerpatients and those suffering degenerative diseases like Parkinson's. However, due to lack of research data the therapeutic use remains low.

Prof. John Kurakar