The treatment uses a combination of oxygen and ozone gas because its oxidating effect has been shown to shrink bulging discs, reducing compression by pulling the herniated part away from nerve roots.

Oxygen-ozone gas is given via an injection into the herniated disc. A needle delivers the treatment directly to the disc, and it reduces the volume within the disc. This is due to the oxidation of proteoglycans, which are proteins found within the gel-like center of the disc (called the nucleus pulposus). When your disc volume is reduced, the pressure on nerves is also reduced. This, in turn, lowers the amount of pain you feel.

Besides a shorter recovery time and lower complication rate than surgery, other benefits of oxygen-ozone injections include:

  • It is minimally invasive.
  • Ozone therapy is usually a day care procedure and general anaesthesia is not usually required
  • It takes little time to administer.
  • It costs much less than surgery.
  • It is a pain-free procedure.

  • Percutaneous injection of ozone-oxygen mixture is given with a 22 G spinal needle under fluoroscopy control.
  • Concentration of ozone is 30-40 microgram/ml.
  • The ozone-oxygen mixture was produced in real-time by a medical ozone generator.
  • 5-10 ml of ozone is injected at the centre of the disc. Between the syringe and the needle, a bacteriological Millipore filter was positioned before infiltrating the gas mixture inside the disc space. The ozone-oxygen mixture was released inside the disc space at an approximate rate of 10 ml/min.
  • With/without intraforaminal injection.
  • Procedure is performed under CT or C-Arm guidance.