Lumbar discectomy is now the operation of choice for lumbosacral radicular syndrome. Few studies of high quality have been performed on the post surgical management of these cases. The studies that have been reported compare one exercise regime to another.

The aim of this study was to compare long term outcomes of usual surgical advice, involving no formal post-surgical rehabilitation, with a non-aggravating six month gym rehabilitation programme post lumbar discectomy. This study is a prospective randomised controlled trial using a cohort followed for three years.

The patients were computer randomised into two groups. Group A, the control group followed usual surgical advice which was to resume normal activity as soon as pain allowed. Group B, undertook the gym rehabilitation programme. Inclusion criteria were: age 17 to 65 years, good health and no major medical problems. The surgical level had to be L3, L4, or L5. Patients were excluded if they had central neurological disorders, communication difficulties, any condition making gym-based exercises unsafe, or if the surgery was indicated for spinal infection, tumour or inflammatory disease. Patients were followed for a three year period using validated outcome measures (Roland-Morris Questionnaire and Oswestry Low Back Pain Index) and an annual Quality of Life (QoL) questionnaire. The annual questionnaire reported information on number of GP visits, other therapist visits, medication levels and time off work.

Ninety three participants were randomised; Control n=46 and trial n=47. Eighty nine participants completed the study. Randomisation achieved a balance of confounding factors, with the exception of work heaviness, where there were a greater number of participants in the very heavy and heavy categories in the trial group (P< 0.01). Functional outcome measures did not achieve statistical difference over the three year period. Other studies have shown these measures to be reliable for short term follow up but their reliability diminishes with time (1,2). Key findings of cumulative three year data for the QoL questionnaire were in the intent-to-treat analysis: fewer GP visits in the trial group p< 0.008; and per protocol: fewer episodes off work p< 0.01 (49% versus 15%), fewer days off p< 0.053 and fewer GP visits p< 0.009.

The results reveal an advantage in terms of episodes off work and GP visits for participants in Group B who completed the programme. Time off work is a significant consideration for funding providers. These results suggest that surgeons should consider referral of discectomy patients to appropriate post-surgical rehabilitation programmes.

Lumbar discectomy is now the operation of choice for lumbosacral radicular syndrome. Few studies of high quality have been performed on the post surgical management of these cases. The studies that have been reported compared one exercise regime to another. This study compares an exercise group with a true control group involving no exercise or formal rehabilitation. This is a randomized controlled trial comparing post surgical lumbar discectomy management regimes.

Ninety three lumbar discectomy patients were randomized to two groups. Group A; the control group followed usual surgical advice which was to resume normal activity as soon as pain allowed. Group B; undertook a six month supervised non aggravating gym rehab programme. Both groups were followed for a one year period using validated outcome measures and a questionnaire. The results are based on an intention-to-treat analysis.

Patients in both groups improved during the one year follow up period (P=0.001). However there was no statistical difference between groups at the clinical end point (Roland Morris P=0.83, Oswestry Low back index P=0.90). Group B patients returned to work seven days earlier than group A patients and had fewer days off work in the one year follow up period but this difference was not statistically significant.

There was no statistical advantage gained by the patients who performed the gym rehabilitation programme after one year follow up. These are the preliminary one year results of a three year follow up study.

Introduction Lumbar discectomy is now the operation of choice for lumbosacral radicular syndrome. Few studies of high quality have been performed on the post-surgical management of these cases (Ostelo RWJG, et al; Spine 2003). The studies that have been reported compared one exercise regime to another. This study compares an exercise group with a true control group involving no exercise or formal rehabilitation. This is a randomised controlled trial comparing post surgical lumbar discectomy management regimes.

Methods Ninety-three lumbar discectomy patients were randomised to two groups. Group A; the control group followed usual surgical advice which was to resume normal activity as soon as pain allowed. Group B; undertook a six month supervised non- aggravating gym rehab programme. Both groups were followed for a one year period using validated outcome measures and questionnaires (Roland Morris, Oswestry Low-back Score). The results are based on an intention-to-treat analysis.

Results Patients in both groups improved during the one-year follow-up period (P=0.001). However there was no statistical difference between groups at the clinical end point (Roland Morris P=0.83, Oswestry Low-back Index P=0.90). Group B patients returned to work seven days earlier than group A patients and had fewer days off work in the one year follow-up period but this difference was not statistically significant.

Discussion There was no statistical advantage gained by the patients who performed the gym rehabilitation programme after one year follow-up. These are the preliminary one-year results of a three-year follow-up study.