PROSPECTIVE CONTROLLED STUDY OF SPINAL SURGERY VERSUS PHYSICAL CAPACITY

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Cardiology
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Degenerative spinal diseases impact patient mobility and quality of life.
• Surgical interventions aim to alleviate pain and improve function.
• The effect of spinal surgery on cardiorespiratory fitness remains an area for investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the influence of spine surgery for degenerative diseases on patients' physical capacity.
• To assess the correlation between surgical outcomes and cardiorespiratory function.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 9 patients (18-60 years) undergoing lumbar spine surgery.
• Patients completed treadmill stress tests (Bruce protocol) preoperatively and postoperatively.
• Cardiologist-supervised testing assessed physical capacity and cardiorespiratory response.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences were observed in key treadmill test parameters between pre- and postoperative assessments.
• A notable 44% of patients required test interruption postoperatively due to dyspnea (shortness of breath), a statistically significant finding (p=0.023).

Conclusions:

• Spinal surgery for degenerative conditions showed no significant improvement in limb fatigue, pain, or low back pain.
• Postoperative dyspnea limited test completion in some patients, indicating potential declines in physical conditioning despite surgery.