ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2026
Tailored postoperative bracing strategies following three distinct lumbar endoscopic discectomy: a propensity score-matched analysis.
Article 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, 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
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate the necessity and technique-specific impact of postoperative bracing on clinical outcomes and multifidus muscle functional cross-sectional area (fCSA) following three distinct lumbar endoscopic discectomies.
methodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted on 457 patients with lumbar disc herniation who underwent unilateral biportal endoscopy (UBE, n = 157), interlaminar endoscopic lumbar discectomy (IELD, n = 170), or transforaminal endoscopic lumbar discectomy (TELD, n = 130). Within each surgical cohort, patients were divided into brace and non-brace groups. A strict 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance baseline demographics and preoperative characteristics. Clinical outcomes, including the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for back pain, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores, alongside MRI-based multifidus fCSA, were assessed up to 6 months postoperatively.
resultsFollowing PSM, all baseline variables were excellently balanced across the subgroups. In the UBE cohort, patients without postoperative bracing experienced significantly worse early back pain (VAS) and functional deterioration (ODI, JOA) at the 1-month follow-up compared to the braced group. Notably, strict bracing across all surgical cohorts inherently resulted in significant multifidus atrophy at 6 months, whereas early brace weaning allowed for fCSA recovery (p < 0.05). Therefore, for UBE, early brace weaning preserved muscle fCSA but at the severe cost of early clinical deterioration. Conversely, in both the IELD and TELD cohorts, early brace weaning safely prevented bracing-induced atrophy without compromising early clinical recovery compared to strictly braced patients.
conclusionThe requirement for postoperative bracing after lumbar endoscopic surgery is highly technique dependent. UBE necessitates postoperative bracing to mitigate severe early structural pain, representing a necessary biomechanical compromise despite the inherent risk of bracing-induced multifidus atrophy. Conversely, the minimal structural disruption in IELD and TELD allows for safe and immediate brace weaning, which not only prevents disuse atrophy but also perfectly aligns with the principles of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS).
Indexed as
Identifiers
42547609What 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.