SynthesisScientific reports2026
Objectively measured physical activity following lumbar decompression surgery: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
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
Lumbar decompression surgery reliably improves pain and disability in lumbar disc herniation and spinal stenosis, but whether these symptomatic gains translate into greater free-living physical activity (PA) remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates postoperative changes in objectively measured PA, and its association with patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Scopus databases were searched to identify studies reporting objectively measured PA after lumbar decompression, including laminectomy, laminotomy, foraminotomy and discectomy. Ten studies (n = 549) met inclusion criteria, with six (n = 199) included in a random-effects meta-analysis of standardised mean change (SMC) in PA volume at 3 and 6 months. Meta-analysis demonstrated small, non-significant improvements in PA volume at 3 months (SMC 0.26; 95% CI -0.16, 0.69) and 6 months (SMC 0.25; 95% CI -0.13, 0.63). PA volume followed a consistent pattern: an early postoperative decline, followed by recovery to pre-operative levels by 3–4 months. There were limited behavioural shifts towards higher activity intensities. Correlations between PA and PROMs were weak and inconsistent. Objectively measured PA shows limited and heterogeneous recovery after lumbar decompression despite marked symptomatic improvement. Further work should standardise PA measurement and evaluate behavioural interventions to support postoperative activity.
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.