• Spine Surgery

This Ph.D. study examined the effects of postoperative rehabilitation in patients recovering after surgery for primary lumbar disc herniation (LDH). 146 patients had surgery and were randomly divided into two groups. The first group received a referral for post-operative rehabilitation, whereas the patients in the second group were sent home after surgery without referral to rehabilitation. The study examined level of pain, disability, quality of life, working ability and return to work. In none of these outcomes the rehabilitation group was superior compared to the group without rehabilitation. An economic evaluation did not find it cost-effective to refer for postoperative rehabilitation in this group of patients. Preoperative working ability and duration of symptoms were related to the postoperative sick leave period. Future recommendation from this Ph.D. study is that patients should not be systematically referred to rehabilitation after surgery for lumbar disc herniation. Future studies should focus upon defining a subgroup of patients who might benefit from postoperative rehabilitation after surgery for LDH.