September 3, 2025
The patient
Patient: Male, 30s
The patient’s medical history to date
The patient’s low back pain symptoms started in late 2024.
Although he had experienced low back pain before, this time the symptoms also began to affect his lower extremities.
He visited a nearby orthopedic clinic, where he received nerve blocks and medication, but his symptoms didn’t improve.
He then came to our clinic for symptom relief.
Symptoms before treatment
・Pain levels before treatment
| Lower back | Lower limbs | Numbness | Buttocks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pain level | 8 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
No pain at all is rated as 0, and the maximum possible pain is rated as 10.
Main Areas of Pain: Lower back, right buttock
Physical Examination:
Forward Bending: No change
Backward Bending: No change
Straight Leg Raise (Lasègue’s Test): Positive at a 50 degree angle on the left side
Tenderness to Palpation: None
Intermittent Claudication: Negative
Additional explanations on our clinic’s medical examination
・Daily activities
Symptoms tend to aggravate when standing up and sitting down.
Imaging and findings
- L4/5: disc herniation
- L4/5: disc degeneration
The above findings were also observed on the imaging.
・A herniated disc was found on the left side at L4/5, but the main symptoms were in the right lower extremity, which did not align with the imaging.
Since the findings were highly likely to be the cause of the patient’s low back symptoms, PODD was recommended as the first choice of treatment over the Cellgel Method.
Treatment
After consulting with the patient, the PODD Method was performed on the L4/5 level.
The treatment was performed by Dr. Kono.
The procedure involved inserting a needle into the intervertebral disc and then injecting ozone.
The treatment took approximately 10 minutes.
After resting in the recovery room, the patient was able to walk home unaided.
Our clinic’s treatment method
Here is additional information about the PODD method introduced in this article:
Cost of PODD: ¥330,000 (tax included) per location to ¥550,000 (tax included) for up to 5 locations.
Cost for this Patient’s Case: PODD 1 location = ¥330,000 (tax included).
PODD Risks/Side Effects: Temporary pain may occur after treatment. Although the possibility of nerve damage is not nil due to the very nature of the treatment, there have been no reports of such damage in our own cases or in published papers.
There is an extremely small possibility of an allergic reaction to the local anesthetic. Additionally, treatment may not be possible in cases where the disc is severely degenerated or has become almost non-existent.
During your consultation, we will work with you to choose the most suitable treatment method based on your condition.
For more detailed information, please refer to the link below:
PODD method page of our treatment methods
This article was written by the Administrative Director of our clinic
