Introduction

On April 1, 2022, a 42-year-old Italian male, computer developer, with no existing chronic diseases, and former competitive cyclist, in driving and sitting many hours at the PC for work, begins to experience a pain in his left leg, initially negligible and interesting only the area of the biceps femoris, but as the days go by the pain becomes more and more intense, pesiste for longer, and gradually affects the entire part from the buttock to the sole of the foot, that is, it affects the entire path of the sciatic nerve [1,2]. The man in the first week pays no attention to the disorder, in the second week, however, he decides to go to his doctor, who prescribes an orthopedic specialist examination and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbosacral spine [3,4]. The specialist examination is performed on April 12, 2022, and pending the instrumental examination, anti-inflammatories and analgesics such as acetylsalicylic acid are prescribed. MRI is performed on April 14, which reveals an L5-S1 intervertebral disc herniation [Figure 1], and a mild protrusion at the L4-L5 level [5-12]. The patient returned to the orthopedic specialist makes it known that since he was able to bear the pain well enough, he did not take the prescribed medication, and would prefer a more natural pain reliever since he can rest [13-15]. The doctor then recommends taking hemp seed oil [16-18], combined if necessary with anti-inflammatory medication if the pain did not subside enough, and an initial course of 10 sessions of physiokinesiotherapy [19], to be started as soon as possible, and reassessment of the case after one month.

Treatment

The patient being able to cope with the pain although disabling (on a scale of 1 to 10, the pain was 7 sometimes even 8, with considerable difficulty in walking and sitting more than 15 minutes consecutively), did not take the prescribed medication, i.e., acetylsalicylic acid, but started taking cold-pressed hemp seed oil (Cannabis Sativa L), since April 24, 5g 3 times a day with meals, noting an improvement in symptoms from the second day of intake (pain went from 7 to 4 the first 3 days, then settled around 3 on the scale of 1 to 10, with significant improvement in walking and with ability to do his work sitting at his desk). The man started physiotherapy sessions with postural exercises on April 26, performing 2 sessions per week (Mondays and Thursdays), for a total of 5 weeks for the first cycle of 10 sessions, resuming work activity from May 2 (pain decreased to 2 on the scale from 1 to 10, and he no longer had great difficulty walking), after having been at rest the previous 2 weeks.

Conclusion

This clinical case emphasizes the importance of performing the appropriate medical specialist and instrumental investigations as soon as possible from the onset of symptoms, so that the best therapy can be recommended to the patient. It also stresses the importance of reducing pain when sooner, and starting postural rehabilitation as soon as possible with physiokinesitherapy sessions, and finally emphasizes how simple hemp seed oil, due to its composition, can be used as an anti-inflammatory with remarkable benefits, combined with drugs or even alone if possible, not only in autoimmune arthritic pain, but also in the treatment of neuropathic pain of radicular origin, also and especially in cases of intervertebral disc degeneration and related herniation. Therefore, further study of this interesting oil in the treatment of neuropathic pain of both radicular and non-radicular origin is invited [20-22].

Figures

References

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