Can rehabilitation therapy help after surgery for a slipped disc?

A group of researchers from the Cochrane Collaboration, an international network of researchers, looked for studies that compared the advantages and disadvantages of rehabilitation programs after slipped disc surgery. The most reliable kinds of studies are called randomized controlled trials. The researchers found 22 such studies. They involved a total of 2,500 participants who had undergone surgery on a disc in the lower region of the spine (lumbar disc surgery).

In most of the studies, the rehabilitation program started four to six weeks after surgery. The types of exercise varied considerably from study to study. They included endurance training, patient education, stretching, and weight training for the back and abdomen. The activities were done one to three times a week, and lasted 30 to 90 minutes at a time. Most rehabilitation programs ran for up to 12 weeks. Most studies looked at whether rehabilitation treatment can relieve pain and improve mobility.

Overall, the studies suggest that rehabilitation can relieve pain and improve mobility for a few weeks. There is less good-quality research on whether rehabilitation has longer-term effects.

The researchers also found one good study which looked at whether rehabilitation can help people return to work sooner. The program they looked at had been offered by a statutory health insurance company in Belgium. During the rehabilitation treatment participants saw a doctor once a month and were given advice, guidance and – if needed – were referred to a physical therapist. The study found that:

• Without rehabilitation, 82 out of 100 participants were able to return to work after one year.
• With rehabilitation, 90 out of 100 participants had returned to work after the same amount of time.

The study provided no evidence that rehabilitation increased the risk of injury or needing surgery again.

There is some evidence to suggest that rehabilitation treatment is more likely to relieve pain if it is started within the first four weeks after surgery than if it is started later or not at all – without increasing the risk of side effects. There has been hardly any research into the possible advantages or disadvantages of starting rehabilitation treatment immediately after surgery. This makes it difficult to say anything about them for now.