Trial reportSpine2010
The impact of workers' compensation on outcomes of surgical and nonoperative therapy for patients with a lumbar disc herniation: SPORT.
Trial report in Spine, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The effect of financial compensation on health outcomes following musculoskeletal injury: systematic review.PloS one · 2015Pooled it
- The efficacy of minimally invasive discectomy compared with open discectomy: a meta-analysis of prospective randomized controlled trials.Journal of neurosurgery. Spine · 2012Pooled it
- Workers' compensation status: does it affect orthopaedic surgery outcomes? A meta-analysis.PloS one · 2012Pooled it
- A Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Effects of Diosmin in the Treatment of Radicular Pain.BioMed research international · 2017Trial
- Low intensity laser and LED therapies associated with lateral decubitus position and flexion exercises of the lower limbs in patients with lumbar disk herniation: clinical randomized trial.Lasers in medical science · 2016Trial
- What Are Long-term Predictors of Outcomes for Lumbar Disc Herniation? A Randomized and Observational Study.Clinical orthopaedics and related research · 2015Trial
- Who should undergo surgery for degenerative spondylolisthesis? Treatment effect predictors in SPORT.Spine · 2013Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Intercostal Nerve Radiofrequency Ablation: A Comprehensive Review of Evolving Techniques and Clinical Applications.Advances in therapy · 2026Review
- A systematic review and meta-analysis on surgery for lumbar disc herniation: optimal timing of surgery, return to work and outcomes compared with conservative management.Brain & spine · 2026Article
- Influence of Workers' Compensation Status on Functional Recovery and Return to Work After Proximal Hamstring Avulsion Surgery: A Matched Cohort Study.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2025Article
- Early Versus Delayed Microdiscectomy for Chronic Sciatica Lasting 4-12 Months Secondary to Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.Global spine journal · 2023Article
- Do Outcomes Differ After Proximal Hamstring Repair for Patients Receiving Workers' Compensation?Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2023Article
- A clinical model to predict postoperative improvement in sub-domains of the modified Japanese Orthopedic Association score for degenerative cervical myelopathy.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2023Article
- Non-surgical treatment with XSHHD for ruptured lumbar disc herniation: a 3-year prospective observational study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2020Observational
- Lumbar Discectomy and Reoperation Among Workers' Compensation Cases in Florida and New York: Are Treatment Trends Similar to Other Payer Types?Journal of occupational and environmental medicine · 2020Article
- Likelihood of Return to Duty Is Low After Meniscal Allograft Transplantation in an Active-duty Military Population.Clinical orthopaedics and related research · 2020Article
- Outcomes and value in elective cervical spine surgery: an introductory and practical narrative review.Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong) · 2020Review
- Surgical outcome of workman's comp patients undergoing endoscopic foraminal decompression for lumbar herniated disc.Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong) · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
STUDY
designProspective randomized and observational cohorts.
objectiveTo compare outcomes of patients with and without workers' compensation who had surgical and nonoperative treatment for a lumbar intervertebral disc herniation (IDH). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Few studies have examined the association between worker's compensation and outcomes of surgical and nonoperative treatment.
methodsPatients with at least 6 weeks of sciatica and a lumbar IDH were enrolled in either a randomized trial or observational cohort at 13 US spine centers. Patients were categorized as workers' compensation or nonworkers' compensation based on baseline disability compensation and work status. Treatment was usual nonoperative care or surgical discectomy. Outcomes included pain, functional impairment, satisfaction and work/disability status at 6 weeks, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months.
resultsCombining randomized and observational cohorts, 113 patients with workers' compensation and 811 patients without were followed for 2 years. There were significant improvements in pain, function, and satisfaction with both surgical and nonoperative treatment in both groups. In the nonworkers' compensation group, there was a clinically and statistically significant advantage for surgery at 3 months that remained significant at 2 years. However, in the workers' compensation group, the benefit of surgery diminished with time; at 2 years no significant advantage was seen for surgery in any outcome (treatment difference for SF-36 bodily pain [-5.9; 95% CI: -16.7-4.9] and physical function [5.0; 95% CI: -4.9-15]). Surgical treatment was not associated with better work or disability outcomes in either group.
conclusionPatients with a lumbar IDH improved substantially with both surgical and nonoperative treatment. However, there was no added benefit associated with surgical treatment for patients with workers' compensation at 2 years while those in the nonworkers' compensation group had significantly greater improvement with surgical treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.