Lumbar Discopathy Research Articles

Comparison of the Effectiveness of Traditional Motorized Traction and Non-surgical Spinal Decompression Therapy Added to Conventional Physiotherapy for Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain.

There are a limited number of studies comparing traditional motorized traction and non-surgical spinal decompression with other treatment options such as conventional motor traction in the treatment of low back pain caused by lumbar discopathy. This retrospective study aimed to compare the effectiveness of these treatments. The retrospective data of patients diagnosed with lumbar discopathy who underwent physical therapy in our clinic were reviewed. Demographic data, duration of their symptoms, physical examination findings, lumbosacral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reports, method and duration of treatment, and visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) results were recorded. A total of 160 patients met the inclusion criteria. Their mean age was 44.6±12.4 (range 21-65) years, 57.5% (n=92) were female, and 42.5% (n=68) were male. There were no differences between the conventional physiotherapy, motorized traction, and spinal decompression groups in terms of age, duration of symptoms, and the number of sessions (p>0.05). In all three groups, the mean scores of VAS and ODI were significantly decreased in the pre-and post-treatment comparisons (p<0.005). The rates of change in VAS and ODI were higher in the traction group and spinal decompression group compared to the conventional treatment (p<0.005). In patients with subacute and chronic lumbardiscopathies, motorized traction and spinal decompression treatments added to conventional treatment were found to be more effective than conventional treatment alone. The results of spinal decompression and conventional motorized traction treatments appear to be similar.

Efficiency of dry needling along with standard physical treatment in people with lumbar pain syndrome

Introduction: The complaints that occur in the area of the lumbar spine are summarized under the term lumbar pain syndrome. These include lumbar discopathy, lumbago, lumboischialgia, sciatica, and other complaints associated with the lumbar region of the spine. The purpose of this study is to evaluate sociodemographic characteristics, assess the degree of disability patients experience due to lumbar pain syndrome, evaluate how many patients catastrophize their pain, and assess the effectiveness of the dry needling technique along with other physical therapy modalities in people with lumbar pain syndrome. Methods: The study was designed as a prospective study conducted from March 2022 to June 2022. 35 subjects of both sexes, aged 25-83, agreed to participate in the study. The subjects who enrolled were pre-dominantly suffering from chronic lumbar pain syndrome, and there were also a smaller number of subjects with acute lumbar pain syndrome. Results: The majority of respondents suffer from lumbar pain syndrome, which falls into the chronic category in 29 or 82.9% of cases. The mean score after the application of therapy on the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scale was 22.0 ± 16.23% and was statistically significantly lower. The average score after the application of the therapy on the visual analog scale (VAS) was 3.06 ± 2.31 and is statistically significantly lower (p &lt; 0.05) compared to the period before the therapy. Conclusion: Dry needling in combination with standard physical procedures led to statistically significant improvements. The mean score on the pain catastrophe scale, VAS, and ODI was significantly lower than in the pre-therapy period.

Retrospective evaluation of patients treated with intradiscal discectomy + RFTC using the Disc-Fx method in lumbar discopathy.

Low back pain is an important public health problem that impairs quality of life and causes limitations in both social and working life. It is attempted to be treated with conservative or surgical procedures. However, how wise is it to plan surgery with a high complication rate when conservative treatment fails to respond? In this study, it was planned to investigate the effectiveness of the Disc-Fx procedure, which is one of the minimally invasive techniques for low back pain. Patients who underwent the Disc-Fx procedure were included. After consent was obtained, questions were asked before and after the procedure. The data of the patients were obtained by telephone and hospital database. Data of 40 patients older than 18 years of age were collected and analyzed retrospectively according to the established protocol. Then, the data were subjected to statistical calculation and the results were obtained. Similar to the literature, there was a significant difference between preoperative and postoperative 1st, 6th, and 12th months of VAS, ODI, and MacNab values. In fact, a significant difference was found between the VAS, ODI, and MacNab values in each postoperative period compared to the preoperative period. In addition, factors that may be important in the etiology of low back pain were also evaluated. The Disc-Fx procedure is thought to be a promising procedure for carefully selected patients due to its low complication rates. It has been concluded that more precise results can be obtained as a result of randomized controlled studies with a larger number of patients and longer follow-up of patients.

THE EFFICIENCY OF PHYSIOTHERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF LUMBAR DISCOPATHY IN ELDERLY PATIENTS

Lumbar pain is one of the most common pathologies encountered among the population. With advancing age, the predisposition to this type of pain increases, which can lead to a decrease in the quality of life. The present study was carried out on a group of 10 patients aged between 70 and 83 years, clinically diagnosed with lumbar discopathy. The recovery program consisted of specific physical therapy exercises associated with massage and medium frequency currents. The obtained results highlight the fact that the pain level decreased significantly following the functional rehabilitation protocol, and the mobility of the lumbar spine improved. The conclusions of the study emphasize the importance of physiotherapy programs in association with massage and medium frequency currents, in terms of improving the symptoms specific to lumbar discopathy in the elderly patient.

Are there any correlations among the number of discopathy levels and pain intensity or disability in patients with symptomatic low back pain?

Low back pain (LBP) is considered a civilization disease that affects people in an increasing number. Discopathy (degeneration of intervertebral discs) is recognised as one of LBP causes. Still, the relationship between the number of discopathy levels and LBP remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the number of discopathy levels with intensity of LBP, functional level and the degree of disability. The prospective, cohort study involved 200 patients aged 27 to 55years (44.9 ± 9.2years) with single- or multilevel lumbar discopathy confirmed by imaging examinations. Functional examination included NRSscale, goniometric measurements, Modified Laitinen Pain Questionnaire, Oswestry Disability Index and Back Pain Function Scale. There were statistically significant positive correlations between the number of discopathy levels and the age of the subjects (r = 0.266; p = 0.000), BMI (r = 0.158; p = 0.029) and ODI (r = 0.157; p = 0.026). Positive correlation (r = 0.142; p = 0.044) was also observed between the results of Fingertip-to-floortest and the number of levels of discopathy. The number of levels of discopathy was depended on the age and BMI of the patients. It had no effect on pain intensity, range of rotational motion of the lumbar spine and functional status of patients. As the number of levels of discopathy increased, a higher degree of everyday disability was observed.

Non-small cell cancer of the lung metastasized to the central nervous system presenting with drop foot: a case report

Drop foot usually presents as lumbar discopathy or peripheral nerve lesion. There may be many causes in the etiology of foot drop, which is rarely reported in upper motor nerve lesions. In this case report, a 59-year-old patient with lung cancer whose only symptom was drop foot was presented. In the patient's anamnesis, physical examination and imaging methods, we were guided by a central cause. As a result, it was concluded that although the etiology of foot drop is mostly due to peripheral lesions, central causes should not be ignored.

Functional Capacity of Patients Operated on Due to Lumbar Discopathy in the Early Postoperative Period

Introduction. The main symptom of lumbar disc herniation is pain, which particularly hinders the functioning of the patient. Functional capacity should be understood as the ability to be independent of other people in meeting basic needs, such as: movement, nutrition, controlling the body’s physiological activities or performing hygiene activities.&#x0D; Aim. The aim of the study was to assess the functioning of patients after lumbar spine surgery in the early postoperative period.&#x0D; Material and Methods. The study included a group of 52 adult patients after lumbar spine surgery performed at the Department of Neurosurgery of the 10th Military Clinical Hospital with the Polyclinic of the SP ZOZ in Bydgoszcz. The method of diagnostic survey was used, the tools were: interview questionnaire, VAS scale, Roland-Morris Low Back Pain Questionnaire, Oswestry Questionnaire and Beck Depression Scale.&#x0D; Results. More than half of the examined patients after lumbar spine surgery felt the intensity of pain at the average level, very strong pain affected nearly 10% (mean 4.44; SD 2.03). According to the Roland-Morris Low Back Pain Questionnaire, nearly 60% of patients showed a moderate level of disability and 35% a high level of disability (mean 15.33; SD 3.85). According to the Oswestry Questionnaire, 53% of patients had moderate disability, 31% had severe disability (mean 54.7%, SD 11.3%). 83% of respondents did not show symptoms of depression (mean 6.98; SD 5.63).&#x0D; Conclusions. The functional capacity of patients after surgery of the lumbar spine turned out to be low, a large part of the respondents showed a medium and high degree of disability. The degree of disability increased with the severity of pain. (JNNN 2022;11(4):147–153)

The relationship between the degeneration and asymmetry of the lumbar multifidus and erector spinae muscles in patients with lumbar disc herniation with and without root compression

BackgroundThe determination of muscle pathologies in lumbar disc herniation (LDH) and other conditions with low back pain is important for understanding low back problems and determining appropriate treatment methods. In patients with lumbar disc herniation with radiculopathy, elucidating the effect of root compression on the severity of muscle degeneration may predict the importance of alleviating root compression. For this purpose, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to compare the degeneration and asymmetries of the lumbar musculus multifidus (MF) and lumbar musculus erector spinae (ES) muscles in patients with lumbar discopathy without root compression (radiculopathy) and in patients with lumbar discopathy with root compression (radiculopathy).MethodsThe patients were examined in two groups: 56 patients with lumbar discopathy and no radiculopathy (Non-rad group) and 51 patients with lumbar discopathy and radiculopathy (Rad group). On axial MRI sections passing through the centre of the disc at the L3-S1 level, the asymmetry, cross-sectional area (CSA), fat infiltration, and total CSA (TCSA = MF + ES) of the MF and ES muscles were measured and compared.ResultsNo difference was seen between the groups with respect to the CSA values of the right and left MF and left ES, but a significant difference was found in the right ES CSA (p = 0.021). The CSA and TCSA of the MF and ES showed no asymmetry according to group. Severe fat infiltration of > 50% in the right and left MF and left ES was found in the Rad group at a higher rate than in the Non-rad group. Fat infiltration was significantly positively correlated with age, body mass index, and the duration of pain (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.004, respectively).ConclusionsThe study results showed a correlation between LDH and paraspinal muscle degeneration, while no correlation was found with asymmetry. Severe (> 50%) fat infiltration is associated with root compression, and the severity of fat filtration increases in the presence of root compression. The development of more severe degeneration due to denervation associated with root compression plays a role in the emergence of this situation. Therefore, in patients with lumbar disc herniation with radiculopathy, it can be foreseen that to stop and correct severe fat infiltration and muscle degeneration, first, nerve root compression should be corrected with appropriate medical treatment methods, and in patients in whom there is no response, the pressure should be alleviated with appropriate surgical methods.

Study on the effects of the use of therapeutic ultrasound in the treatment of osteoarticular diseases

Introduction. The use of therapeutic ultrasounds is a method that proved its efficiency in articu-lar and periarticular pathology, in the subacute and chronic stages. The biological effects of the ultrasound use are determined by their interaction with the cellular structures whereas the re-sults depend on the used parameters. The purpose of the survey is to evaluate / identify the ef-fects of using ultrasounds in the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions (lumbar discopathy), knee osteoarthritis). Material and method. The survey was conducted on an outpatient basis in a period of 7 months and it is of the longitudinal type. It included 151 patients diagnosed with low back pain and knee osteoarthritis. The evaluated parameters were: pain, functional skills, articu-lar rigidity and the quality of life. Results. The effects of the use of ultrasounds is found in the decrease of pain, the stiffness of the joints and the contracture of the muscles, as shown by the re-sults of several surveys. Our survey proves that the use of ultrasounds decreases pain and in-creases the functional skills, it influences the physical function more obviously in patients with knee osteoarthritis, which is an aspect found in others surveys. Discussion. The use of a complex ultrasound treatment (in the pulsed way to avoid thermal effects) and kinesiotherapy enabled in our research the decrease of the pain and of the rigidity in the joints, the increase of the function-al skills and the quality of life, whereas these obtained results are in accordance with those of others surveys. Conclusions. The use of the therapeutic ultrasounds can have the following ef-fects: the decrease of the pain and of the joint rigidity, the improvement of the physical capacity for daily activities and the improvement of the quality of life. The use of low intensity ultra-sounds can determine biological effects with actions for a short period or for an average one. Keywords: therapeutic ultrasound, treatment, osteoarticular diseases, quality of life

Effectiveness of hip upslip correction method on ambulation and back pain in patients with lumbar discopathy: a case report

Effectiveness of hip upslip correction method on ambulation and back pain in patients with lumbar discopathy: a case report

Awake spinal fusion - Endoscopic facet sparing transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion under caudal epidural: A game changer

Background: Trans-Kambin fusion offers the advantage of providing reduced morbidity and awake surgery allowing for patient's own neuromonitoring during the procedure, along with reduced hospital stay, early mobilization, reduced blood loss, and reduced operative time, while maintaining the standard of fusion that can be achieved with open/MISS transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion.Objective: Spinal fusions done under GA have restrictions when it comes to patients with OSA/COPD/Cardiac dysfunction, etc. Awake Endoscopic Spinal fusion surgeries can provide a novel solution to such patients.Material and Methods: EKLIF was performed in total of 19 patients with 17 single-level and 02 patients with multilevel lumbar discopathy and/or degenerative spondylolisthesis resulting in axial back pain and claudication, pseudoradicular, or radicular symptoms. Endoscopic discectomy and interbody cage insertion were performed through a 1 cm lateral incision used for transforaminal access, followed by percutaneous pedicle screw-rod fixation. Clinical outcome was assessed by early postoperative pain scores (visual analog score [VAS]). Fusion rates were assessed by X-rays at 6 months. Clinical outcome, time in the operating room, intraoperative blood loss, VAS at preoperative, immediate postoperative, and after 6 months were determined.Results: Excellent and good clinical results were obtained in 16 (84%) out of 19 patients at 6 months. The mean time spent in the operating room 71 min and no patient required a blood transfusion. The mean hospital stay was 2.8 days, with one patient having a prolonged stay of 8 days due to an intraoperative dural tear that was managed conservatively. There was no morbidity related to instrumentation. Postoperative stay was reduced with all patients mobilized on the next day of surgery. Fusion was visible in all patients on follow-up imaging at 6 months. The mean VAS of the study group before surgery was 6.63 with a significant change to 2.94 in the immediate postoperative period. At 6-month follow-up, the mean VAS was 1.3.Conclusions: EKLIF allows for safe and efficient minimally invasive treatment of single and multilevel degenerative lumbar instability with good clinical results. Further prospective studies investigating long-term functional results are required to assess the definitive merits of trans-Kambin fusion of the lumbar spine.

Diseases leading to permanent disqualification in Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force non-pilot crew

BackgroundEfficient personnel is the most important Armed Forces capital. Many studies have shown the relationship between health and performance. Understanding the factors leading to disability has preventive importance. This study was aimed to identify diseases leading to permanent disqualification of Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) non-pilot crew (NPC) to identify existing deficiencies and prevent personnel disqualification. MethodsThe study was designed as descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective research. Medical causes and diseases leading to early and permanent medical disqualification (EPMD) of IRIAF NPC from 1986 to 2016 were collected from their medical records and council files. Data were registered and sorted in predesigned electronic sheets for analysis by SPSS version 26. ResultsOf all the 155 cases with permanent disqualifications, 126 persons had medical disqualification, and others were killed or missed in actions. Flight engineers, navigators, and loadmasters had the most medical disqualification. The highest number of killed or missed persons in actions was for navigators, loadmasters, and crew chiefs. The main reasons for EPMD were psychiatric, cardiac, and neurologic, wherein common diseases included generalized anxiety disorder, myocardial infarction, and lumbar discopathy. The total lost service years were 1569 person-years. Its average was 12.45 person-years per individual with a standard deviation of ±2.4. ConclusionDue to the similarity in the work environment, we compared NPC results with similar studies in other flight crew. Nonetheless, the main causes and diseases leading to early EPMD of the flight crew were similar in different studies, but their orders and frequencies were different.

Thermovision analysis of the surface of the lower limbs in patients with symptomatic lumbosacral discopathy before and after surgery

Introduction: The subject of the study is analyzing of the temperature distribution on the lower limbs in patients with discopathy of the lumbosacral spine requiring surgery. Aim: The answer to the question whether surgical treatment reduces temperature differences on the lower limbs of patients undergoing surgery. Material and methods: Thermograms of the lower limbs were performed before and on the second day after microdiscectomy or microdiscectomy with posterior lumbar interbody fusion. The study group consisted of 37 patients of the Neurosurgery Department, while the control group consisted of 18 healthy people. Comparative analyzes of temperatures on the lower limb with pain with the temperatures on the lower healthy limb in the same patient indicate significant statistical differences in temperature distribution. Based on the thermograms, two region of interest’s (ROI) of the same area were determined on the thigh and the lower leg. The maximum, minimum and average temperatures were determined for those areas. Results and discussion: Comparative analyzes showed statistically significant differences for both areas and all temperatures between healthy and affected limbs in the group of patients before surgery. In turn, after surgery, no statistically significant differences were observed between the respective limb temperatures for both ROI areas. The analysis of the temperature parameters determined for analogous ROIs in the control group did not show statistically significant differences for all measured temperatures. Conclusions: After selective surgical treatment of lumbar discopathy by microdiscectomy previous significantly statistical temperature differences between the lower limbs in analogical ROIs in those patients decreased to not statistically significant differences.

New possibilities of graphics software in the analysis of thermograms of patient’s lower limbs – a technical note

Abstract The analysis involved thermograms of the lower limbs of a patient suffering from symptomatic L-S segment discopathy with spinal root compression syndrome (symptomatic lumbar discopathy) qualified for surgical treatment. The thermograms were obtained using the Flir Ebx 50 camera. They were developed with the use of the software included with the Flir Ebx 50 camera, as well as the Origin Pro 2020 data analysis and graphing software. ROIs (Regions of Interest) were specified and analyzed in terms of temperature (average, maximum or minimum) temperature distributions, isotherms, and specified surface areas limited by selected isotherms. According to the analysis of the thermograms, the images obtained with Origin Pro 2020 enable a more advanced presentation of the temperature distribution, by taking into account the isotherms with selected temperatures and by calculating the area limited by a given isotherm (or between two isotherms) they allow to introduce an additional surface parameter related to specific isotherms. It provides additional information (parameter) in comparison with analogous ROIs on healthy and pathologic limbs in the same patient.

Medical causes and diseases leading to early permanent disqualification in IRIAF pilots based on their service categories

Background and Aim: Efficient manpower is the most important capital and studies have shown the relationship between health and performance.Understanding the factors leading to disability has preventive importance.Our aim is determine the causes and diseases leading to early permanent medical disqualification of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force pilots based on their service categories. Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective study with target population of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force pilots with early and permanent medical disqualification from 1986 to 2016. Results: Out of 508 cases of early medical discharges, 239 items were considered medical disqualification, 17 war captives, 34 service exchange and the remaining 218 was for on service killed or missed persons.The main medical causes were neurosurgery, cardiovascular and psychiatric, while common diseases include lumbar discopathy, myocardial infarction and cardiac arrhythmia.The lost service years was 3233 person year and the average was 12.63 person year per individual. Conclusions: Based on the previous similar studies, it was expected that the common cause include neurosurgery, cardivascular and psychiatric with more prevalence in fighter, transportation, and helicopter service categories.At the end, we found that our results were in line with initial expectations.

Fear Avoidance Beliefs and Outcome After Surgery for Degenerative Lumbar Spine.

This was a prospective cohort study. The aim of this study is to question the influence of fear avoidance beliefs on functional outcome following surgery for degenerative lumbar spine. Fear avoidance beliefs are well-studied modifiers of low back pain. Nonetheless, the influence of fear avoidance beliefs on the outcome of spinal surgery remains controversial. We conducted a prospective cohort study including patients undergoing surgery for degenerative lumbar discopathy, spondylolisthesis, and stenosis. Patients completed a preoperative questionnaire including the Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ) as well as Visual Analog Scales for radicular and lumbar pain (VAS-R/L), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and Short-Form 36 health survey (SF36). Functional outcome was measured at least 6 months after surgery using ODI. Sixty-three patients with a mean follow-up of 254 days (8.5 mo, minimum=179 d, maximum=534 d) were included in the study. Women showed stronger work-related fear avoidance beliefs but there was no other difference in baseline characteristics and functional outcome between patients with low or high (>75th percentile) baseline FABQ-P or FABQ-W scores. Individual variables associated with whether patients reached minimal clinically important difference for ODI were: working status [odds ratio (OR)=0.13; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.03-0.62; P =0.01], American Society of Anesthesiologists classification score (OR=0.32; 95% CI, 0.11-0.92; P =0.03), preoperative duration of symptoms (OR=0.94; 95% CI, 0.89-0.99; P =0.03), and preoperative ODI (OR=1.03; 95% CI, 1.00-1.07; P =0.05). Neither physical nor work-related preoperative FABQ scores were predictors of functional results. In our study, the FABQ was not associated with functional outcome following surgery for degenerative lumbar spine. Other psychological patient-reported measures are needed to refine selection of patients undergoing spine surgery in order to ensure better outcomes.

Effectiveness of Balance Exercises on Postural Control and Quality of Life in Patients with Lumbar Discopathy

Objective: Lumbar discopathy is a common problem that effects musculoskeletal system. Many treatment modalities are in use for patients with lumbar discopathy. Balance exercises could be important for the lumbar discopathy due to the effected musculoskeletal system. This study was planned to investigate the effect of balance exercises on postural control and quality of life for lumbar discopathy. Methods: A total of 81 patients were divided into two groups as interventional and control group. Therapeutic ultrasound, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), hotpack and therapeutic exercises applied to all patients 5 times in a week during thirty sessions. Additionally, the interventional groups received balance exercises. Pain (Visual Analog Scale), disability (Oswestry Disability Index), quality of life (Short Form-36) and postural control (Libra®) have been evaluated by same physiotherapist before and after the treatment. Results: Statistically significant differences were found between the groups comparing pain, disability and postural control parameters (p&amp;lt;0.05). In the between group comparisons of the mean changes of the ‘Quality of Life’ assessment parameters, no significant differences were obtained between the interventional and control group (p&amp;gt;0.05), except ‘physical role’ parameter in favor of the control group (p=0.04). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that physiotherapy modalities improve pain, disabiliy, quality of life and postural control parameters in patients with lumbar discopathy but adding classic balance exercises in physiotherapy treatment, do not have a remarkable effect in patients with lumbar discopathy.

Variety and contribution of different rheumatic diseases at rheumatology clinic of a general hospital

This study was designed to reveal the variety and contribution of different rheumatic diseases in a non-referral rheumatology outpatient clinic. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, the data in medical records of all patients visited for the first time in the rheumatology clinic of a general hospital from the beginning of April 2016 to the end of March 2017 was gathered and evaluated for demographic characteristics, complaints, and diagnoses. A total of 2063 medical records were assessed. Among them, 2006 individuals were diagnosed with a rheumatologic disease. The mean age of patients was 48.72 ± 15.51, and females constituted 74.88% of patients. The distribution of diseases was as follows: 345 (17.20%) inflammatory, 1594 (79.46%) noninflammatory, and 67 (3.34%) both groups. The most common diagnosis was knee osteoarthritis (29.42%). Frequency distribution of other common diagnoses was in the following order: periarticular disease (15.53%), nonspecific generalized pain (8.75%), lumbar discopathy (6.24%), and rheumatoid arthritis (6.20%). The most frequent complaints were knee pain (30.96%), back pain (10.18%), and hand pain (9.35%). Among periarticular diseases, plantar fasciitis (17.27%), carpal tunnel syndrome (16.36%), and rotator cuff tendinitis (12.05%) were the most frequent disorders. More than half of the diseases included degenerative joint diseases, periarticular diseases, nonspecific musculoskeletal pain, and low back pain. The most prevalent diseases should be prioritized in the curriculum of medical education for undergraduate students. Proper policies for patient education, public health programs, and modified lifestyle may reduce morbidity among patients and costs forced upon healthcare providers and governments.

The relationship between the experience of negative feelings and quality of life and the socio-demographical factors of patients treated for spinal discopathy of the lumbar spine

Most of the pathological changes in the spine begin with the physiological loss of intervertebral disc function. Discopathy of the lumbar spine leads to a significant deterioration in the quality of life, which is why the therapeutic team strives is to improve patients quality of life through actions aimed at reducing spinal dysfunction to an extent that allows for human functioning. The research aim was to determine the quality of life of patients who had been treated as a result of discopathy of the lumbar spine and to establish the relationship between the experience of negative feelings and a subjective assessment of the quality of life with factors resulting frompatient socio-demographics. The study included 110 patients treated for lumbar discopathy. A diagnostic survey method was employed as a research technique, with the use of a proprietary survey questionnaire. Statistic analysis of the results was performedusing the statistical package PQStat v1.6.6. Subjective evaluation of patients quality of life in 66 persons (60%) was at an average level, only 6 (5.45%) respondents rated the quality of their lives as being higher. Those living in towns of up to 50,000 residents rated their quality of life higher (6.21), with the lowest level being reported by those living in the countryside (4.95). Age did not influence significantly the quality of life, but older people most often experienced pain (p=0.4). Analysis of variance did not show statistically significant differences between marital status and respondent quality of life (p = 0.53) but did show significant differences between education levels and the incidence of negative feelings such as fear, anxiety or depression. Socio-demographic variables: such as gender, age and marital status do not significantly differentiate the quality of life of the respondents. There is a relationship between experiencing negative feelings and educational levels. The lower the education level obtained, the more often negative feelings are experienced. The experiencing of negative feelings and disease duration are variables that reduce the quality of life of respondents.

The effectiveness of the McKenzie method in treating lumbar discopathy

PurposeThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a 2-week physiotherapy treatment augmented with the McKenzie method in patients with lumbar discopathy. The influence of this treatment on progression in the mobility range of lumbar spine was investigated.MethodsSixty patients aged 40–59 years diagnosed with lumbar discopathy were equally divided into group A (mean age: 51.4 years) and group B (mean age: 51.8 years). The McKenzie method was applied in group A and conservative physiotherapeutic treatment was administered to group B. Pre- and post-intervention measures of spinal range of motion were assessed with a Saunders digital inclinometer; pain intensity and nerve root irritation were also collected. The results were compared between groups.ResultsSpinal mobility improved and pain was reduced in both groups albeit enhanced treatment outcomes were observed in group A compared with group B (p &lt; 0.0001).ConclusionsThe improved response in group A attests to the applicability of the McKenzie method in the treatment of lumbar discopathy. Post-treatment values did not meet clinical norms and may be a result of group characteristics at baseline (high pain level and impeded spinal mobility) or the limited intervention duration.