Degenerative spine disease patients experience relief after surgery

Washington, June 2 (ANI): People suffering from degenerative spine disease are likely to experience great relief from pain after undergoing a surgery, says a new study.

"There are thousands of surgeries completed each year to address degenerative spine conditions, yet, there has never been a large-scale trial to give us evidence that the surgeries really work, as compared to non-operative approaches," said study author James Weinstein, DO, MS, Third Century Professor and Chair of the departments of orthopaedics at Dartmouth Medical School and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

During the study, the researchers collected data from 607 men and women diagnosed with spondylolisthesis from the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT)

"Until this study, our 'evidence' was anecdotal and based on patient reports," said Weinstein.

"Our results indicate that in these patients, there was a clear advantage for surgery.

"Patients felt relief faster and at two and four years, reported better function, less pain, and higher satisfaction than those who chose to go the non-surgical route," he added. (ANI)