This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Filiz, M. Articles by Ozcan, E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Filiz, M. Articles by Ozcan, E. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The effectiveness of exercise programmes after lumbar disc surgery: a randomized controlled study

Aysegul Cakmak

Emel Ozcan

Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Istanbul, Turkey

Objective: To compare two different exercise programmes versus a control group, after lumbar disc surgery.

Design: A prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled study.

Setting: Outpatient clinic of Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Subjects: Sixty patients diagnosed as having single level lumbar disc herniation with clinical examination and MRI evaluation and who had undergone lumbar discectomy (post-operative first month) at a single level. Patients with serious pathologies involving the cardiac and respiratory systems that could prevent them from doing exercises were excluded.

Intervention: The patients were randomly split into three groups. The first group received an intensive exercise programme and back school education while the second group received a home exercise programme and back school education. The third group was defined as the control group and did not receive education or exercise.

Main measures: The patients were evaluated at the beginning and end of the treatment with clinical parameters, pain levels, endurance tests and weight-lifting tests, modified Oswestry Disability Index, Beck Depression Inventory, Low Back Pain Rating Scale and return to work.

Results: The groups doing exercises experienced a decrease in the severity of pain and disability, also functional parameters showed better improvement than the control group. The intensive exercise programme was better than the home exercise programme.

Conclusions: It seems that intensive exercise is more effective in reduction of pain and disability, but whether it is cost-effective is not clear.

Clinical Rehabilitation, Vol. 19, No. 1, 4-11 (2005)
DOI: 10.1191/0269215505cr836oa


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Haworth, C. Young, and E. Thornton The effects of an 'exercise and education' programme on exercise self-efficacy and levels of independent activity in adults with acquired neurological pathologies: an exploratory, randomized study Clinical Rehabilitation, April 1, 2009; 23(4): 371 - 383. [Abstract] [PDF]