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Observational Study
. 2014 Jan;23(1):135-41.
doi: 10.1007/s00586-013-2964-5. Epub 2013 Aug 21.

Improvement in low back pain following spinal decompression: observational study of 119 patients

Alistair Daniel Robert Jones  1 , Ahmad Mounir Wafai, Amy Louise Easterbrook
Affiliations
Observational Study

Improvement in low back pain following spinal decompression: observational study of 119 patients

Alistair Daniel Robert Jones et al. Eur Spine J. 2014 Jan.

Abstract

Study design: Prospective clinical observational study of low back pain (LBP) in patients undergoing laminectomy or laminotomy surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).

Objectives: To quantify any change in LBP following laminectomy or laminotomy spinal decompression surgery.

Patients and methods: 119 patients with LSS completed Oswestry Disability Index questionnaire (ODI) and Visual Analogue Scale for back and leg pain, preoperatively, 6 weeks and 1 year postoperatively.

Results: There was significant (p < 0.0001) reduction in mean LBP from a baseline of 5.14/10 to 3.03/10 at 6 weeks. Similar results were seen at 1 year where mean LBP score was 3.07/10. There was a significant (p < 0.0001) reduction in the mean ODI at 6 weeks and 1 year postoperatively. Mean ODI fell from 44.82 to 25.13 at 6 weeks and 28.39 at 1 year.

Conclusion: The aim of surgery in patients with LSS is to improve the resulting symptoms that include radicular leg pain and claudication. This observational study reports statistically significant improvement of LBP after LSS surgery. This provides frequency distribution data, which can be used to inform prospective patients of the expected outcomes of such surgery.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Visual Analogue Pain Score sheet
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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