Surgery more effective for herniated discs than nonsurgical treatments

A new study has revealed that for patients with herniated discs in the lower (lumbar) spine, surgery leads to greater long-term improvement in pain, functioning, and disability compared to nonsurgical treatment,

According to lead author Dr. Jon D. Lurie of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and the Geisel School of Medicine, carefully selected patients who underwent surgery for a lumbar disc herniation achieved greater improvement than non-operatively treated patients.

The results add to the evidence for surgical treatment of herniated discs- but also show that nonsurgical treatment can provide lasting benefits for some patients.

The researchers analyzed data from the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT), one of the largest clinical trials of surgery for spinal disorders.

The current analysis included eight-year follow-up data on 1,244 patients treated at 13 spine clinics across the United States. About 500 patients were randomly assigned to surgery (a procedure called discectomy) or nonsurgical treatment, although patients were allowed to "cross over" to the other treatment.

For the remaining patients, decisions as to surgery or nonsurgical treatment were left up to the patients and their doctors. Standard measures of pain, physical functioning, and disability were compared between groups.

It was found that patients who actually underwent surgery versus nonsurgical treatment, significant differences emerged. On a 100-point pain scale, pain scores averaged about 11 points lower in the surgery group. Measures of physical functioning and disability showed similar differences.

Surgery also led to greater improvement in some additional outcomes, including the bothersomeness of sciatica symptoms, patient satisfaction, and self-rated improvement.

While average outcome scores were better with surgery, many patients had significant improvement with nonsurgical treatment. After eight years, about one-third of patients who were clinically indicated for surgery have chosen not to have operative treatment.

The study will be published in the January issue of Spine.