Evaluation of the Back Muscle Exercise for the Lumbar Discectomy Patients

ABSTRACT

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. OBJECTIVES: To identify the implementation of self-exercise therapy and analyze the effects of exercise therapy after lumbar discectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Studied 47 patients who underwent partial lumbar discectomy and laminectomy from January, 2009 to December, 2009. They were instructed on 16 kinds of exercise therapy in total from postoperative 1day to postoperative 6weeks. Group A (n=25), whose frequency of outpatient clinic visit is above the average, and Group B (n=22), whose frequency of visit is relatively low;, below 5 times. We tested the visual analog scale (VAS scale) of back, Oswestry disability index and the strength of the two groups before surgery and at postoperative 3, 6, and 12 months. RESULTS: The degree of pain was significantly different (26.6+/-9.4 and 53.5+/-18.6) between group A and group B at postoperative 6 months. Function of daily life and strength test were significantly different (6.6+/-4.8 and 11.3+/-4.0 at group A, 3.6+/-0.9 and 3.0+/-1.1 at group B) between the two groups at postoperative 12 months. The characteristics of low compliance patients are low accessibility to the hospital and lack of knowledge on the importance of exercise according to the degree of pain. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that postoperative exercise program has significant effects on the pain, the function of daily life. It also increases flexibility and strengthens the muscle of patients with high compliance of outpatient clinic visit. The factors influencing the results are the age of patients, the willingness to exercise, and the environment in which each patient lives/resides.