SynthesisEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2017
The clinical course of pain and disability following surgery for spinal stenosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.
Synthesis in 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, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Objectively measured physical activity following lumbar decompression surgery: systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Pooled it
- Which lumbar spinal stenosis patients will improve with nonsurgical treatment? A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2025Trial
- Feasibility of conducting an active exercise prehabilitation program in patients awaiting spinal stenosis surgery: a randomized pilot study.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- Comparative Clinical Effectiveness of Nonsurgical Treatment Methods in Patients With Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2019Trial
- Trial
- The long-term clinical course of non-surgically treated lumbar spinal stenosis: a 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 · 2026Review
- Article
- Characterising patients undergoing surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis associated neurogenic claudication in the UK: what does the British Spinal Registry tell us?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 · 2025Article
- Can 3-month models or observed 3- or 6-month patient-reported outcome measures accurately predict 12-month disability and pain after lumbar decompressive surgery?Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2025Article
- Article
- Long-Term Prognosis of Surgical and Non-Surgical Treatment for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Web-based machine learning application for interpretable prediction of prolonged length of stay after lumbar spinal stenosis surgery: a retrospective cohort study with explainable AI.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- An Integrative, Non-Pharmacological Pain Management Approach In Severe Lumbar Spine Degeneration: A Case Report.Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.) · 2024Article
- Recovery of the Japanese orthopedic association back pain evaluation questionnaire score and walking ability following lumbar spinal stenosis 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 · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
- Impact of surgical treatment on lipid metabolism in patients with lumbar spinal disorders: Prospective observational study.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 · 2023Observational
- Effect of Nefopam on Dysesthesia, Postoperative Pain, and Satisfaction in Patients with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Undergoing Spine Surgery: A Double-Blind, Randomized Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Preoperative cross-sectional area of psoas muscle correlates with short-term functional outcomes after posterior lumbar 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 · 2023Article
- Efficacy of surgical treatment on polypharmacy of elderly patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis: retrospective exploratory research.BMC geriatrics · 2023Article
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe aim of this study was to assess the clinical course of pain and disability in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis following surgery.
methodsElectronic databases were searched to July 2014 and only prospective cohort studies assessing pain or disability following surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis were included. Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed study quality. Estimates of pain and disability (expressed as 0-100 point scales) as well as 95 % confidence intervals were obtained using meta-regression. The effect of time was clearly non-linear, so it was modelled using fractional polynomial regression.
resultsFrom a total of 10,741 titles, 69 publications (64 cohort studies) were included in the review. Pooled estimate for pain pre-operatively was 63.4 (95 % CI 56.5; 70.3), reducing to 33.1 (95 % CI 24.2; 41.9) at 3 months and 19.2 points (95 % CI 9.2; 29.3) at 60 months. Pre-operative estimates of disability were 36.9 (95 % CI 32.6; 41.3), reducing to 16.3 (95 % CI 11.8; 20.9) at 3 months and 12.4 (95 % CI 7.7; 17.2) at 60 months.
conclusionPatients with lumbar spinal stenosis experience rapid symptom reduction after surgery, but should still expect to experience mild-to-moderate pain and disability 60 months later.
Indexed as
Identifiers
27443531What 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.