Usefulness of corset adoption after single-level lumbar discectomy: a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE In this paper, the authors sought to verify whether corset adoption could improve the short-term and midterm outcome scores of patients after single-level lumbar discectomy. METHODS A monocentric, randomized controlled trial of 54 consecutive patients who underwent single-level lumbar discectomy at the authors' institution was performed from September 2014 to August 2015. Patients were randomly assigned to use or not use a lumbar corset in the upright position. Patients with previous interventions for disc herniation or with concomitant canal or foraminal stenosis were excluded. The visual analog scale, Oswestry Disability Index, and Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire were used to compare groups at the 1- and 6-month follow-up time points. RESULTS No significant differences between the 2 groups were reported at either time point for any given outcome irrespective of the scale used. CONCLUSIONS Corset adoption does not improve the short-term and midterm outcomes of patients after single-level lumbar discectomy.