Sciatica is pain that radiates down the leg, often below the knee into the shin, ankle, or down to the toes. Sciatica is a type of neurological pain that occurs due to inflammation of a spinal nerve root. Disc herniation or related spine disorders, which may occur following falls, motor vehicle accidents, sports injuries, or just in the course of ordinary life, may cause severe and chronic sciatica and therefore have a devastating impact on your quality of life. Daily back, neck, or leg pain, difficulty sitting, standing, walking or lifting can last a lifetime.
Most people desire an alternative to the risks and expense of spine surgery, knowing that surgery can cause its own serious complications. A better answer was needed. A decade ago, a revolutionary new approach was invented at the INR: the local administration of a tiny amount (one cc., 1/30 of one ounce) of a unique medicine, etanercept, near the source of the pain. Local etanercept for sciatica is considered an off-label treatment, but its efficacy in published studies (references 2 and 4 below) attracted the attention of researchers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, who performed their own randomized, double-blind study that was published in 2009(reference 5), providing further scientific support for the concept invented at the INR nearly a decade earlier (see U.S. patents issued to Edward Tobinick MD, Founder of the INR, including but not limited to U.S. 6015557; 6419944;6537549; 6982089; and additional issued and pending U.S. patents assigned to TACT IP, LLC).
A gentle, rapid, method that takes only minutes, and is done in the privacy and comfort of our office. Anesthesia is not necessary, and following a brief visit patients may return directly to their usual daily activities.
INR medical providers now have been using this fast, gentle, non-surgical method for a decade, with thousands of patients treated, from around the world. This revolutionary approach for severe back pain, neck pain, or sciatica, and other breakthroughs invented at the INR, are cited by scientific publications by physicians and scientists from around the world; are now supported by multiple-studies and multi-center clinical data; and are available for you, today.
For further background, please see the following scientific publications:
- Perispinal etanercept: a new therapeutic paradigm in neurology. Edward Tobinick MD. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics. 2010 Jun;10(6):985-1002.
- Efficacy of etanercept delivered by perispinal administration for chronic back and/or neck disc-related pain: a study of clinical observations in 143 patients. Edward Tobinick MD, Susan Davoodifar MD. Curr Med Res Opin. 2004 Jul;20(7):1075-85.
- Targeted etanercept for treatment-refractory pain due to bone metastasis: two case reports. Edward L. Tobinick MD.Clinical Therapeutics. 2003 Aug;25(8):2279-88.
- Perispinal TNF-alpha inhibition for discogenic pain. Edward L. Tobinick MD, Susan Britschgi-Davoodifar. Swiss Med Wkly. 2003 Mar; 133(11-12):170–7.
- Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-response, and preclinical safety study of transforaminal epidural etanercept for the treatment of sciatica. Cohen SP, Bogduk N, Dragovich A, Buckenmaier CC 3rd, Griffith S, Kurihara C, Raymond J, Richter PJ, Williams N, Yaksh TL. Anesthesiology. 2009 May;110(5):1116-26.PMID:19387178.
- Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Antagonist Reduces Apoptosis of Neurons and Oligodendroglia in Rat Spinal Cord Injury.Chen KB, Uchida K, Nakajima H, Yayama T, Hirai T, Watanabe S, Guerrero AR, Kobayashi S, Ma WY, Liu SY, Baba H. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2011 Jan 8. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 21224756.
- Etanercept restores the antinociceptive effect of morphine and suppresses spinal neuroinflammation in morphine-tolerant rats. Shen CH, Tsai RY, Shih MS, Lin SL, Tai YH, Chien CC, Wong CS. Anesth Analg. 2011 Feb;112(2):454-9.PMID:21081778.
- Direct application of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitor, etanercept, into a punctured intervertebral disc decreases calcitonin gene-related peptide expression in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. Horii M, Orita S, Nagata M, Takaso M, Yamauchi K, Yamashita M, Inoue G, Eguchi Y, Ochiai N, Kishida S, Aoki Y, Ishikawa T, Arai G, Miyagi M, Kamoda H, Kuniyoshi K, Suzuki M, Nakamura J, Toyone T, Takahashi K, Ohtori S. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2011 Jan 15;36(2):E80-5. PMID: 21057386.
- Therapeutic evaluation of etanercept in a model of traumatic brain injury. Chio CC, Lin JW, Chang MW, Wang CC, Kuo JR, Yang CZ, Chang CP. J Neurochem. 2010 Nov;115(4):921-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2010.06969.x. Epub 2010 Sep 28. PMID:20796174.
- Paths to acceptance. The advancement of scientific knowledge is an uphill struggle against ‘accepted wisdom’. Wolinsky H. EMBO Rep. 2008 May;9(5):416-8.
Disclaimer: Individual results vary, not all patients respond. Continuing maintenance treatment may be necessary to maintain the clinical response. The method utilized for this indication is off-label. Please see the Terms of Use. Copyright 2018 INR, all rights reserved. Issued and pending U.S. and foreign patents, including, but not limited to, U.S. 6419944, 6537549, 6982089, 7214658, 7629311, 8119127, 8236306 and 8349323, all assigned to TACT IP, LLC; and Australian patent 758523.