The relationship between post-op pain and lumbar discectomy

A new study proves that waiting time for 12 weeks or more prior to elective surgical lumbar discectomy (ESLD) comes with worse pain which might last for 6 months. The results of this study are published in The Spine Journal. On this research worked Jeffrey A. Quon, D.C., Ph.D., from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, in collaboration with colleagues who prove that delaying ESLD treatment is associated with worse pain after operation. There were 291 patients involved in this study, starting with 16 years and above that. There was worse pain encountered by a lot of patients, after 6 months following the operation. The team of researchers proved that 80% of long-wait patients encountered worse and more intense pain, unlike short-wait patients. “In jurisdictions where highly constrained access to ESLD is managed through waitlists, the expected waiting time for the operation could be an informative deciding criterion for patients with otherwise unresolved preferences for operative treatment”, the authors write.