European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Low back pain in general practice: cost-effectiveness of a minimal psychosocial intervention versus usual care.
An intervention that can prevent low back pain (LBP) becoming chronic, may not only prevent great discomfort for patients, but also save substantial costs for the society. Psychosocial factors appear to be of importance in the transition of acute to chronic LBP. The aim of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of an intervention aimed at psychosocial factors to usual care in patients with (sub)acute LBP. ⋯ However, the complete case analysis and the sensitivity analyses with imputed cost data were inconsistent with regard to the statistical significance of this difference in cost data. This study presents conflicting points of view regarding the cost-effectiveness of MIS. We conclude that (Dutch) general practitioners, as yet, should not replace their usual care by this new intervention.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomised controlled trial of post-operative rehabilitation after surgical decompression of the lumbar spine.
Spinal decompression is the most common type of spinal surgery carried out in the older patient, and is being performed with increasing frequency. Physiotherapy (rehabilitation) is often prescribed after surgery, although its benefits compared with no formal rehabilitation have yet to be demonstrated in randomised control trials. The aim of this randomised controlled trial was to examine the effects on outcome up to 2 years after spinal decompression surgery of two types of postoperative physiotherapy compared with no postoperative therapy (self-management). ⋯ Significant reductions in leg and back pain and self-rated disability were recorded after surgery (P < 0.05). Pain showed no further changes in any group up to 24 months later, whereas disability declined further during the "rehabilitation" phase (P < 0.05) then stabilised, but with no significant group differences. 12 weeks of post-operative physiotherapy did not influence the course of change in pain or disability up to 24 months after decompression surgery. Advising patients to keep active by carrying out the type of physical activities that they most enjoy appears to be just as good as administering a supervised rehabilitation program, and at no cost to the health-care provider.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Investigation of clinically important benefit of anterior cervical decompression and fusion.
The objectives of the prospective randomized study are to investigate the clinically relevant change after anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF) using measures of pain intensity (visual analog scale, VAS) and neck disability index (NDI). And to determine the number of subjects showing persistent pain and disability at 6-year follow-up. To investigate the possibility of differences in outcome between ACDF with the cervical intervertebral fusion cage (CIFC) and the Cloward procedure (CP). ⋯ Thirty millimeter and 20% in pain intensity and NDI, respectively, are reasonable criteria to suggest a clinically relevant change after ACDF. Before patients undergo ACDF, they should be informed that they have an approximate 50% probability of achieving pain relief and little probability of functional improvement. The findings demonstrate that there is poor evidence for difference between CIFC and CP.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Disc replacement using Pro-Disc C versus fusion: a prospective randomised and controlled radiographic and clinical study.
Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) may be considered to be the gold standard for treatment of symptomatic degenerative disc disease within the cervical spine. However, fusion of the segment may result in progressive degeneration of the adjacent segments. Therefore, dynamic stabilization procedures have been introduced. ⋯ We observed significant pain reduction in neck and arm postoperatively, without significant difference between both groups (P > 0.05). Cervical spine disc prosthesis preserves cervical spine segmental motion within the first 6 months after surgery. The clinical results are the same when compared to the early results following ACDF.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Transforaminal steroid injections for the treatment of cervical radiculopathy: a prospective and randomised study.
Steroid injections are often employed as an alternative treatment for radicular pain in patients with degenerative spinal disorders. Prospective randomised studies of the lumbar spine reveal contradictory results and non-randomised and most often retrospective studies of the cervical spine indicate pain reduction from steroid injections. No prospective randomised study on transforaminal steroid injections for the treatment of radicular pain in the cervical spine focusing on short-term results has been performed. ⋯ At follow up, there were no differences in treatment results in the two patient groups. Statistical analysis of the results confirmed the lack of difference in treatment effect. Further studies have to be performed before excluding steroids in such treatment and for evaluating the influence of local anaesthetics on radiculopathy in transforaminal injections.