Abstract
Objective: Acute disc herniation (DH) is a common cause of low back pain (LBP). It ranks fifth in the category of diseases in terms of cost of hospital care. It has higher indirect costs due to absenteeism from work and disability than any other disease. The present study was performed to assess the clinical outcomes of non-surgically treated LBP patients after 6 months of follow-up. Methods: The present study was prospective study which was performed on 450 lumbar radicular patients visiting the neurosurgery outpatient department having clinical signs and symptoms of acute lumbar DH of less than 3 month duration. Their diagnosis was confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging. The patients were treated conservatively during 6 months. Pain and disability were assessed by visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability questionnaire, respectively. Results: About 135 (30%) female and 315 (70%) male participated in the study. During the follow-up period, 27 (06%) patients (21 male and 6 female) showed poor response to conservative treatment and motor weakness and underwent surgical intervention. A significant improvement in the VAS Score was seen after 6 months of conservative treatment than initial evaluation of patients (3.12±1.84, 7.1±1.43, p=0.00). Furthermore, significant improvement in disability score of patients was seen in follow-up period (25.82±16.92, 53.66±17.66; p=0.00). Conclusion: Results of our study showed that conservative treatment in patients of acute lumbar DH have significant improvement in pain relief and disability without any notable side effect.
Highlights
Low back pain (LBP) is a common-condition in younger than 50 years of age
A significant improvement in the visual analog scale (VAS) Score was seen after 6 months of conservative treatment than initial evaluation of patients (3.12±1.84, 7.1±1.43, p=0.00)
Results of our study showed that conservative treatment in patients of acute lumbar disc herniation (DH) have significant improvement in pain relief and disability without any notable side effect
Summary
Low back pain (LBP) is a common-condition in younger than 50 years of age. The economic burden of lumbar-spine disorders is heavy [1]. It ranks fifth in the category of diseases in terms of cost of hospital care. LBP due to acute lumbar disc herniation (DH) is common disorder at the ages of 40–50 year. Main symptom being radiating pain in the area of the leg typically served by one nerve root in the lumbar or sacral spine [1,2]. Several treatment modalities including surgical and conservative are being applied for these patients. Maximum patients of acute DH improved with conservative treatment such as bed rest, life style modification, medication, back support, exercise, manipulation, and physical therapy [6,7]
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