Nonoperative Management is Associated With Similar Long-Term Patient-Reported Outcomes Compared With Surgery for...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Neurosurgery
• Evidence-Based Medicine

Background:

• Cervical radiculopathy is a prevalent condition causing significant morbidity.
• Both surgical and non-operative treatments are effective, but optimal patient selection and long-term advantages of early surgery remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare long-term patient-reported outcomes between surgical and non-operative management for cervical radiculopathy.
• To evaluate the long-term benefits of earlier operative intervention.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and observational studies.
• Searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library up to January 2026.
• Primary outcomes: VAS for neck/arm pain, Neck Disability Index (NDI), overall success. Secondary outcomes: analgesia use, sick leave.

Main Results:

• Twelve studies (1127 patients) were included; 487 surgical, 640 non-operative.
• No significant differences in VAS arm pain, VAS neck pain, NDI, or overall success at 12 months.
• Comparable long-term results for analgesia use and sick leave between groups.

Conclusions:

• Pooled analysis indicates comparable long-term pain, disability, and functional outcomes for selected patients undergoing non-operative management versus surgery.
• Findings apply to selected cohorts and do not imply therapeutic equivalence.