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Background and Aims Stabbing pain deriving from a herniated disc at L4-L5, L5-S1 levels poses a significant clinical challenge. Some patients diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation experience not only typical pain but also hyperalgesia over the sensory territory of the common peroneal nerve. Therefore, exhaustive approaches are emerging for effective pain management. Among these emerging techniques are transforaminal steroid injections associated with common peroneal nerve blockade. Consequently, the study aims to investigate the potential synergistic effects of integrating these two interventions to improve pain relief in patients with lumbar radiculopathy.

Methods Prospective, single-center study conducted from September 2022 to September 2023. Included patients were aged 25 to 65 years, with L4-L5, L5-S1 radicular pain, and discomfort throughout the common peroneal nerve’s sensory territory. Participants were blindly assigned to two groups: the first receiving ultrasound-guided common peroneal nerve blockade in addition to transforaminal steroid epidural injection, while the second group received only the standard transforaminal injection method. Pain intensity was assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS) for all participants before and after interventions to evaluate changes in scores and duration of pain relief.

Results 180 patients were included in the study, with 60% of the population being female and 40% male. Preliminary results showed a remarkable depletion in pain scores after combining both interventions in 100% of participants.

Conclusions This combined approach appears promising for managing severe radiculopathy. Further investigations through larger-scale studies with long-term follow-up are crucial to confirm these findings and establish the role of this combined intervention in the management of lumbar radiculopathies.