Observational studyBMC musculoskeletal disorders2020
Objective evaluation of postoperative changes in real-life activity levels in the postoperative course of lumbar spinal surgery using wearable trackers.
Observational study in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Objectively measured physical activity following lumbar decompression surgery: systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Pooled it
- Readiness for implementation of novel digital health interventions for postoperative monitoring: a systematic review and clinical innovation network analysis.The Lancet. Digital health · 2023Pooled it
- Feasibility of Smartphone-Derived Short-Interval Walking Tests for Monitoring Functional Recovery After Spine Surgery.JOR spine · 2026Article
- Therapeutic exercise following lumbar spine surgery: a narrative review.North American Spine Society journal · 2025Article
- Wearable Devices in Scoliosis Treatment: A Scoping Review of Innovations and Challenges.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Wearable Spine Tracker vs. Video-Based Pose Estimation for Human Activity Recognition.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- SmartWear body sensors for neurological and neurosurgical patients: A review of current and future technologies.World neurosurgery: X · 2024Review
- Objective Assessment of Sleep Disorders in Patients with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Using Wearable Trackers.Spine surgery and related research · 2023Article
- Continuous data capture of gait and mobility metrics using wearable devices for postoperative monitoring in common elective orthopaedic procedures of the hip, knee, and spine: a scoping review.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2023Article
- Accelerometry Data Delineate Phases of Recovery and Supplement Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Following Lumbar Laminectomy.World neurosurgery · 2022Article
- A vision for the future of wearable sensors in spine care and its challenges: narrative review.Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong) · 2022Review
- Early postoperative physical activity and function: a descriptive case series study of 53 patients after lumbar spine surgery.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
20 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLumbar spinal disease causes disabilities in performing daily activities. Operative treatments are aimed at pain relief and rapid return to routine activity. Patient-based outcome measures are used to evaluate pathologies and therapeutic effects associated with lumbar spinal disease. Nevertheless, it remains unknown as to how much such treatment improves activity levels. The purpose of the current study was to measure changes in activity levels before and after lumbar spinal surgery using a wearable activity tracker and to analyze the differences between results and patient-based outcomes.
methodsSixty patients who underwent lumbar surgery were studied. The physical activity of participants was objectively evaluated using a wearable Micro-Motion logger system (Actigraph). We measured the amount of activity before and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the surgery to evaluate postoperative changes. The Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire, Oswestry Disability Index, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and visual analog scale were used to assess patient-based outcomes of pain and activities of daily living-related scores; we analyzed the relationships between scores and actual activity levels.
resultsThe amount of actual activity decreased significantly 1 month after the surgery compared to that during the preoperative period, which then improved after 3 months postoperatively (p < 0.01). Furthermore, there was a significant improvement 6 months after the surgery compared to that during the preoperative period (p < 0.05). The changes in activity for each period were strongly correlated, regardless of the period. In contrast, a significant improvement was observed at 1 month after the surgery in almost all items of the patient-based questionnaires (p < 0.05).
conclusionsThe objective activity tracker demonstrated that lumbar surgery results in the amount of activity decreasing 1 month just after surgery followed by gradual postoperative recovery within 3 months. By contrast, patient-based outcomes showed improvement in 1 month that was significantly different from the change in actual activity, indicating a gap between patient-oriented clinical scores and their actual activities.
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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.