الفهرس 
Introduction and Aim of The WorkOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The aim of this work is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture therapy versus caudal or combined caudal-lumbar epidural injection of methyleprednisolone with bupivacaine for postlaminectomy pain relief. Evaluation of these techniques was done through assessment of pain, straight leg rising, and foreword flexion, ambulating and radioimmunoassay of CSF beta-endorphin levels.
In conclusion, we can say that, all the three methods, used in this study, provide a satisfactory pain relief. The quality of pain relief was better in the epidural groups (specially, combined epidural) than in the acupuncture group. For every patient, complete evaluation must be done to decide which method become more suitable for his treatment. The recommendation of using any of the three methods of treatment depends, firstly, on patient preponderance to the technique he accepts, the time factor (where the epidural procedures takes a little time but the acupuncture must be done on 12 sessions) and, mainly, on the outcome of treatment results.
Lastly, we can say that, all the three methods are simple and give a satisfactory pain relief within a reasonable duration, particularly for patients with short history of pain.
Accordingly, acupuncture therapy must be considered in the management of postlaminectomy pain. So, we recommend the combination of acupuncture (1-2 sessions weekly) and epidural injections of steroid with local anesthetic when required for three successive injections.