Long-Term Effectiveness of Combined Spine Surgery and Functional Restoration: A Prospective Study

Abstract

The present study was designed to evaluate whether chronic low back pain patients who underwent surgery combined with functional restoration (n = 43) would demonstrate comparable 1-year socioeconomic outcomes, relative to those patients who had not undergone surgery (n = 25). This represents the first investigation of patients who underwent spine surgery, followed immediately by a comprehensive functional restoration program. The study prospectively evaluated these two groups of consecutive patients, culminating in a structured clinical interview 1 year after program completion in order to assess socioeconomic outcomes. Results demonstrated that the two groups were comparable in terms of return-to-work rates, as well as self-reported satisfaction and perceived helpfulness of the treatment program. Thus, in spite of the common assumption that spine surgery patients fare poorly, especially in a workers' compensation environment, these findings show that such patients will display successful objective outcomes if surgery is accompanied by effective rehabilitation such as functional restoration.