Could Oxygen Therapy Help My Thumb and Hand Pain?

If you have been living with thumb pain or rhizarthrosis, you know how hard it can be to find treatments that really work. Many people with hand and finger pain wonder about different treatment options they may have never heard of.

One treatment getting attention is called oxygen-ozone therapy. It is a simple procedure that uses a special mix of oxygen and ozone gas. Doctors inject this mixture into painful areas.

A recent study looked at whether this treatment works for musculoskeletal pain in the neck. That means pain that comes from muscles, bones, and joints in the neck area. While the study focused on the neck, the findings help us understand how this therapy works for muscle and joint pain in general.

In this article:

• What Is Oxygen-Ozone Therapy?
• What Did Researchers Study?
• How Was the Treatment Given?
• What Results Did They Find?
• Was It Safe?
• What Does This Mean for People With Thumb Pain?
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Conclusion
• Disclaimer
• Article Citation

What Is Oxygen-Ozone Therapy?

Let us start with the basics. Oxygen is the air you breathe every day. Ozone is a special form of oxygen that has three oxygen atoms instead of two. When doctors mix oxygen and ozone together, they create a medical mixture.

This therapy is considered minimally invasive. That means it does not require big cuts or surgery. Doctors use a small needle to inject the gas mixture. The treatment uses the natural effects of oxygen and ozone on your body’s chemistry.

Here is where it gets interesting. The oxygen-ozone mixture appears to work by affecting how your body handles inflammation. Inflammation is the swelling and soreness you feel when something hurts.

What Did Researchers Study?

The research team wanted to find out if oxygen-ozone therapy really helps with neck pain. They looked at many different medical databases. These are huge collections of scientific studies that doctors and researchers use.

They searched for studies using words like ozone, neck, cervical, spine, pain, disc, and treatment. Cervical is just the medical word for the neck part of your spine.

You may be wondering why this matters. Well, finding all the studies helps us see the big picture. It shows what the research really says.

According to this study, the researchers found seven studies total. Two of these were randomized controlled trials. That is the best kind of study because it compares the treatment to something else fairly. The other five were observational studies. These studies watch what happens to patients who get the treatment.

What Conditions Were Treated?

The seven studies looked at different neck problems:

• Myofascial pain syndrome (pain in muscles and the tissue that covers them)
• Cervical disc hernias (when the cushion between neck bones pushes out)
• Chronic neck pain (pain that lasts a long time)

All of these are musculoskeletal problems. That means they involve muscles, bones, joints, and the tissues that connect them.

How Was the Treatment Given?

The studies used two main ways to give the oxygen-ozone mixture:

Intradiscal Injection

Doctors injected the mixture directly into the disc. The disc is the soft cushion between the bones of your spine. This method was used for people with disc hernias.

Intramuscular Paravertebral Injection

This sounds complicated but it is simple. Intramuscular means into the muscle. Paravertebral means next to the spine bones. So doctors injected the mixture into muscles near the spine.

Let us look closer at what they measured.

What Results Did They Find?

Research shows that all seven studies found something important. Every single study proved a significant decrease in neck pain. Significant means the change was real and not just by chance.

How Did They Measure Pain?

The studies used two main pain scales:

• Visual Analog Scale: Patients mark their pain level on a line from no pain to worst pain
• Numerical Rating Scale: Patients rate their pain from 0 to 10

Both scales help doctors understand how much pain someone feels. After the oxygen-ozone treatment, pain scores went down in all the studies.

Did Daily Function Improve?

Pain is not the only thing that matters. You also want to do your daily activities without trouble. Most of the studies showed improvement in functional status. That means people could do more things and move better.

Studies measured function with:

• Oswestry Disability Index: A questionnaire about how pain affects daily activities
• Neck Disability Index: Questions about how neck pain limits what you can do

What Other Measurements Were Used?

According to medical evidence, the researchers also looked at many other measures:

• DN4 questionnaire: Checks for nerve pain
• Pain pressure threshold: How much pressure causes pain
• Cervical lateral flexion range of motion: How far you can bend your neck to the side
• Japanese Orthopedic Association scale: Rates spine problems and function
• 12- and 36-Item Short Form Surveys: Questions about quality of life and health
• Modified MacNab criteria: Rates how satisfied patients are with results
• Analgesic drug intake reduction: Whether patients needed less pain medicine

Changes in these measurements mostly supported the idea that oxygen-ozone treatment works. Most patients felt better in multiple ways.

Was It Safe?

Safety matters just as much as whether a treatment works. You want something that helps without causing new problems.

The good news is clear. According to this study, no significant complications of the treatment were reported. That means patients did not have serious bad reactions or side effects from the oxygen-ozone injections.

This is important information. It suggests that the treatment is relatively safe when done properly by trained doctors.

What Does This Mean for People With Thumb Pain?

You might be thinking about your own thumb or hand pain right now. This study looked at neck pain, not thumb pain. But the findings still matter to you.

Here is why. Rhizarthrosis is also a musculoskeletal problem. It involves the joint, bone, and surrounding tissues at the base of your thumb. The oxygen-ozone therapy studied here was used for musculoskeletal pain in the neck.

The same type of treatment approach might be studied for hand and thumb conditions in the future. Understanding how it works for one type of joint and muscle pain helps researchers think about other areas.

Right now, the evidence for oxygen-ozone therapy in thumb pain is not available in this study. But knowing about different treatment approaches helps you have better conversations with your doctor.

What the Researchers Said

The study authors were honest about the evidence. They said the available evidence is sparse. That means there are not many studies yet. But despite this, they concluded that oxygen-ozone treatment of musculoskeletal neck pain can be considered potentially beneficial and relatively safe.

Potentially beneficial means it might help. More research is still needed to know for sure.

About This Site

We created this site to help people like you understand medical research about thumb pain and rhizarthrosis. We read published scientific articles and explain them in plain language. Everything we share comes from real medical studies. We do not make up facts or give personal opinions. We simply help you understand what scientists have discovered. Feel free to explore more articles on our site to learn about your condition.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is oxygen-ozone therapy used for?

According to this research, oxygen-ozone therapy is commonly used for treating musculoskeletal pain. That includes pain from muscles, joints, bones, and the tissues around them. The studies reviewed here focused on neck pain from different causes.

How do doctors give oxygen-ozone therapy?

Research shows that doctors inject the oxygen-ozone gas mixture using a needle. They can inject it directly into a disc between spine bones or into muscles near the spine. The injection is minimally invasive, meaning it does not require surgery or large cuts.

Does oxygen-ozone therapy reduce pain?

Studies indicate that all seven research studies found a significant decrease in pain after oxygen-ozone treatment. Patients rated their pain lower on standard pain scales. Most studies also showed that people could move better and do more daily activities.

Is oxygen-ozone therapy safe?

Medical evidence from this review reports that no significant complications were found in the studies. This suggests the treatment is relatively safe when done by trained medical professionals. As with any medical procedure, you should discuss risks and benefits with your doctor.

Conclusion

Oxygen-ozone therapy is a treatment approach that uses a mixture of oxygen and ozone gas to help with musculoskeletal pain. This review found seven studies showing that it can reduce neck pain and improve function. No serious side effects were reported.

While this study focused on neck pain, it helps us understand more about pain treatments in general. If you have thumb pain or rhizarthrosis, this information can help you learn about different types of pain therapy.

The evidence is still limited. More studies are needed. But the findings so far look promising for this type of treatment.

Always talk to your doctor before trying any new treatment. Your doctor knows your specific situation and can help you decide what is best for you.

Disclaimer

This article is for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice. It does not replace the advice of your doctor or healthcare provider. Always consult with a qualified medical professional before making decisions about your health or treatment options. The information here comes from a published scientific review and is meant to help you understand research findings.

Article Citation

Original Study: Jandura, Jiri; Vajda, Milan; Cech, Michal; Ryska, Pavel (2024). Oxygen-Ozone Therapy of Musculoskeletal Neck Pain: A Review. Journal of Personalized Medicine.

https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm14030326