Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
4094922 Seminars in Spine Surgery 2009 7 Pages PDF
Abstract

Several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective observational cohort studies have compared surgical to conservative treatment for patients with sciatica caused by lumbar disc herniation. Whereas no RCT has been able to compare surgery with nonoperative treatment without substantial crossover between treatment groups, multiple RCTs and observational studies have suggested that surgery resulted in faster improvement and a greater degree of improvement compared with nonoperative treatment. However, many patients in these studies also experienced improvement with nonoperative care without adverse sequelae. This paper critically reviews the literature comparing surgery with nonoperative treatment for lumbar disc herniation.

Related Topics
Health Sciences Medicine and Dentistry Orthopedics, Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation
Authors
, , ,