Efficacy of non-surgical spinal decompression on pain, quality of life and functional status in patients with low back pain due to l5-s1 disc herniation

Objective: We aimed to compare the efficacy of non-surgical spinal decompression on pain, quality of life and functional status in patients with low back pain due to L5-S1 disc herniation. Materials And Methods: 40 people were included in the study. Patients were divided into 2 groups. The study group (n = 20) was given home exercise with spinal decompression for 3 weeks, 3 days per week. In the control group (n = 20), only home exercise was given during the same period. Patients were evaluated twice before and after treatment. The assessment parameters used were VAS, ODI, BDI and SF-36 quality of life assessment questionnaire. In addition, pre-treatment and post-treatment MRI and H reflex measurements were performed for all patients. Results: Compared with post-treatment results, significant improvement was observed in VAS, ODI and BDI measurements in both groups. There was no significant difference in favor of the study group with respect to the percentage of ODI change, while there was no significant change between the groups. There was a significant difference in favor of the study group in terms of percent change in ODI, while there was no significant change between the groups. When we looked at the subgroups of SF-36, there was a significant change in favor of the study group of 3 sub-parameters (social function, general health and mental health). In the remaining 5 parameters, significant improvement was observed in both groups. There was no difference between the groups. Disc size and H reflex measurements were not different between before and after treatment in both groups. Conclusion: In patients with LDH, treatment with spinal decompression combined with exercise therapy (except for the ODI percent change and the three subparameters of SF-36) did not achieve an obvious superiority to exercise therapy alone. We believe that the use of this treatment alone, which has been shown to be efficacious in non-comparative studies and which is in demand for patients, will be a good alternative to other modalities to increase the motivation of the patients.