title: Prospective functional evaluation of the surgical treatment of neurogenic claudication in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.
abstract: A prospective evaluation of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis undergoing operative treatment was performed using treadmill-bicycle functional testing as well as Oswestry and Visual Analog Pain scales for self-assessment. Thirty-two patients undergoing spinal stenosis decompression with and without a concomitant spinal fusion were prospectively evaluated, preoperatively and a minimum of 2 years postoperatively. Surgical treatment was demonstrated to produce significant improvement in walking ability, and to a lesser degree, in the ability to bicycle 2 years postoperatively. Improvement in patient function demonstrated on the Oswestry questionnaire correlated with decreased pain observed on the Visual Analog Pain scale. The treadmill-bicycle test appears to be a useful tool for the differential diagnosis of neurogenic claudication and may be used as an objective test of postoperative outcome.
authors.affiliation: Physical Therapy Specialists in Neurology and Orthopaedics, and Washington University Program in Physical Therapy, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tenhula
authors.forename: L G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Lenke
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Bridwell
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Riew
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007383:Intermittent Claudication / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007796:Laminectomy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016138:Walking