Surgical decompression and a physician therapy regimen had similar effects among patients with symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
A total of 169 study participants with LSS were randomly assigned to receive either surgery or physician therapy. Seventy-four patients from the surgery group and 73 from the physical therapy group completed 24-month follow-ups.
Mean improvement in physical function for the surgery group was 22.4 and for the PT group was 19.2. Intention-to-treat analyses revealed no difference between groups.
"Patients and healthcare providers should engage in shared decision-making conversations that include full disclosure of evidence involving surgical and nonsurgical treatments for LSS," noted the study authors.
