Phillip A.
Tibbs, MD
Neurosurgeon
What the news
means for you
Neurosciences
March 31, 2008
Surgery often the best approach
for spinal stenosis, study finds
vertebra in the lower part of the spine slips
– and had experienced at least 12 weeks of...
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Phillip A.
Tibbs, MD
Neurosurgeon
What the news
means for you
Neurosciences
March 31, 2008
Surgery often the best approach
for spinal stenosis, study finds
vertebra in the lower part of the spine slips
– and had experienced at least 12 weeks of
leg symptoms.
The spinal conditions were
confirmed by imaging studies.
Treatments and outcomes
The most common surgical procedure
performed for lumbar spinal stenosis is
decompressive laminectomy, in which the
laminae (roofs) of the vertebrae are removed
to create more space for the nerves and to
relieve pressure.
Most of the patients who had
surgery in the SPORT study underwent this
procedure.
Nonsurgical treatment outcomes
were determined by the patients’ levels of pain
and physical function, as measured by their
responses to standardized questionnaires.
An intention-to-treat analysis found a
significant effect favoring surgery for pain
but not for physical function.
An “as-treated”
analysis including b
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