SynthesisClinical orthopaedics and related research2015
Incidence of Low Back Pain After Lumbar Discectomy for Herniated Disc and Its Effect on Patient-reported Outcomes.
Synthesis in Clinical orthopaedics and related research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 118 papers, 12 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.
Preoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Abnormalities Predictive of Lumbar Herniation Recurrence Following Surgical Repair
The Necessity and Timing of Exercise After Lumbar Disc Herniation Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Spinal Cord Stimulation for the Treatment of Therapy-Resistant Neuropathic Pain After Lumbar Spinal Surgery - A Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled, Cross-over Study
Who cites it
118 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 234 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sequesterectomy versus standard micro‑/open discectomy for lumbar disc herniation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Neurosurgical review · 2026Pooled it
- Association between Modic changes and recurrence of lumbar disc herniation after percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in surgery · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of Enhanced Recovery Rehabilitation Surgery Concepts on the Surgical Process, Postoperative Pain, Complications, and Prognosis of Discectomy in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Computational and mathematical methods in medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Correlation between Pain Scores and Disc Height Changes after Discectomy in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Computational intelligence and neuroscience · 2022Pooled it
- The Functional Role of Interface Tissue Engineering in Annulus Fibrosus Repair: Bridging Mechanisms of Hydrogel Integration with Regenerative Outcomes.ACS biomaterials science & engineering · 2020Pooled it
- Balancing biological and biomechanical performance in intervertebral disc repair: a systematic review of injectable cell delivery biomaterials.European cells & materials · 2020Pooled it
- Clinical course of pain and disability following primary lumbar discectomy: systematic review and meta-analysis.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 · 2020Pooled it
- The utility of diagnostic selective nerve root blocks in the management of patients with lumbar radiculopathy: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2019Pooled it
- Comparison of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy versus microendoscopic discectomy for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation: a meta-analysis.International orthopaedics · 2019Pooled it
- Physical prognostic factors predicting outcome following lumbar discectomy surgery: systematic review and narrative synthesis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2018Pooled it
- Do Modic changes have an impact on clinical outcome in lumbar spine surgery? A systematic literature review.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 · 2016Pooled it
- Microendoscopic discectomy versus open discectomy for lumbar disc herniation: a meta-analysis.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 · 2016Pooled it
- Clinical Efficacy and Safety of a Modified Moxibustion Therapy for Low Back Pain in Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Two-Center, Randomized, Controlled, Non-Inferiority Trial.Journal of pain research · 2024Trial
- Bilateral ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane block for postoperative persistent low back pain in lumbar disc surgery.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 · 2022Trial
- 10 kHz Spinal Cord Stimulation for the Treatment of Failed Back Surgery Syndrome with Predominant Leg Pain: Results from a Prospective Study in Patients from the Dutch Healthcare System.Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain · 2021Trial
- Lumbar disc reherniation prevention with a bone-anchored annular closure device: 1-year results of a randomized trial.Medicine · 2019Trial
- Herniectomy versus herniectomy with the DIAM spinal stabilization system in patients with sciatica and concomitant low back pain: results of a prospective randomized controlled multicenter trial.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 · 2017Trial
- Durable pain relief following basivertebral nerve ablation in patients with prior lumbar decompression: A retrospective case series.Interventional pain medicine · 2026Article
- Brain activity alterations following lumbar discectomy in people with chronic low back pain.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 · 2026Article
- Association of preoperative co-occurring intervertebral disc-related degenerative features with one-year lumbar discectomy outcomes: A proposal for and preliminary testing of a novel MRI-based criterion.European journal of radiology open · 2026Article
58 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLong-term postdiscectomy degenerative disc disease and low back pain is a well-recognized disorder; however, its patient-centered characterization and quantification are lacking. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: We performed a systematic literature review and prospective longitudinal study to determine the frequency of recurrent back pain after discectomy and quantify its effect on patient-reported outcomes (PROs).
methodsA MEDLINE search was performed to identify studies reporting on the frequency of recurrent back pain, same-level recurrent disc herniation, and reoperation after primary lumbar discectomy. After excluding studies that did not report the percentage of patients with persistent back or leg pain more than 6 months after discectomy or did not report the rate of same level recurrent herniation, 90 studies, which in aggregate had evaluated 21,180 patients, were included in the systematic review portion of this study. For the longitudinal study, all patients undergoing primary lumbar discectomy between October 2010 and March 2013 were enrolled into our prospective spine registry. One hundred fifteen patients were more than 12 months out from surgery, 103 (90%) of whom were available for 1-year outcomes assessment. PROs were prospectively assessed at baseline, 3 months, 1 year, and 2 years. The threshold of deterioration used to classify recurrent back pain was the minimum clinically important difference in back pain (Numeric Rating Scale Back Pain [NRS-BP]) or Disability (Oswestry Disability Index [ODI]), which were 2.5 of 10 points and 20 of 100 points, respectively. RESULTS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW: The proportion of patients reporting short-term (6-24 months) and long-term (> 24 months) recurrent back pain ranged from 3% to 34% and 5% to 36%, respectively. The 2-year incidence of recurrent disc herniation ranged from 0% to 23% and the frequency of reoperation ranged from 0% to 13%. PROSPECTIVE STUDY: At 1-year and 2-year followup, 22% and 26% patients reported worsening of low back pain (NRS: 5.3 ± 2.5 versus 2.7 ± 2.8, p < 0.001) or disability (ODI%: 32 ± 18 versus 21 ± 18, p < 0.001) compared with 3 months.
conclusionsIn a systematic literature review and prospective outcomes study, the frequency of same-level disc herniation requiring reoperation was 6%. Two-year recurrent low back pain may occur in 15% to 25% of patients depending on the level of recurrent pain considered clinically important, and this leads to worse PROs at 1 and 2 years postoperatively.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.