Sporting activity following discectomy for lumbar disc herniation

The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent patients could resume physical activity following surgery for herniated lumbar disks. We analyzed a cohort of 1003 patients who underwent lumbar spine surgery within 1 year. Out of this cohort, 93 patients were selected according to our inclusion criteria (age 20-35 years, mediolateral single level disk herniation, no comorbidity at the lumbar spine, and treatment with conventional subtotal diskectomy). This group was evaluated after a minimum follow-up of 28 months in a telephone questionnaire; participants were questioned about pre- and postoperative physical activities. The questionnaire was answered by 67 patients. Twenty-six patients were lost to follow-up because they had relocated. The follow-up group had a mean age of 30 years. Five patients underwent a second procedure due to recurrent disk herniation. All patients showed a pain reduction. At follow-up, no patient needed constant pain medication. Eighty-two percent of the patients were pain free during practicing sports. Sixty-two patients performed some type of sport after surgery. Concerning the type and frequency of physical activities, no significant change between pre- and postoperative behavior occurred. The 5 patients with recurrent disk herniation did not behave differently. Single-level lumbar disk surgery does not limit or compromise sportive activity in young people.