MUMBAI: Backache was Vikhroli resident Satyawati Aarekar's unwanted yet constant companion for the past seven years. The 60-year-old housewife found it difficult to even climb to her third-floor flat without her lower back radiating pain towards her leg.

Ozone therapy, introduced in Mumbai, came as a welcome relief for Aarekar, who had tried everything from bed rest, ayurveda and accupressure in the hope of finding relief.

Aarekar underwent the out-patient procedure at Bombay Hospital, at Marine Lines, a few months ago and was thrilled to be back on her feet. "The pain is gone 99%," she said. Called 'ozonucleolysis', or ozone therapy, the treatment is ideally recommended to patients who suffer severe disc problems.

It simply involves injecting ozone (purified form of oxygen) into the affected disc, and promises almost instant relief from excruciating backaches.

"I was afraid to get a surgery done for my spine. I have seen friends around my age undergoing operations for slipped disc and taking months to recover," said Aarekar.

She coughed up Rs 25,000 and opted for the ozone needle instead. "Ozone therapy is recommended to patients with slipped disc; those cases in which the nerve roots get compressed radiating pain to the leg," said Dr Dhaval B Modi of Bombay Hospital's interventional neuro-radiology department, who, along with Dr Sharad Ghadge, helped Aareka .

"It is an out-patient procedure in which we inject ozone into the affected disc," he said. Civic-run KEM Hospital in Parel, too, introduced ozone therapy as an option to patients a year ago.

While there is no specific data related to India, spine surgeons estimate that roughly 5% of the general population is affected by serious disc problems. While a lot of patients do not require treatment, others traditionally undergo spine surgeries for relief. Ozone therapy is the latest in this bouquet of treatments for spinal problems.

"For a spine surgeon, ozonucleolysis is simply the most incredible option available. It doesn't require an incision, has no side-effects and shows results in at least 85% of the cases," said Delhi-based spinal surgeon Dr Vijay Sheel Kumar, who is the president of the World Federation of Ozone Therapy and has been using the therapy for the past three years.

"However, patient selection is of utmost importance. Those whose legs have paralysed or those with loss of bladder movement would still require traditional surgery," he added.