Physical Therapy Beats Surgery
for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis (LSS)

Many people seek surgical decompression to try to manage the symptoms of pain, numbness, tingling and weakness that characterize lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), but surgery often fails to render long-lasting results because it treats the symptoms of stenosis without addressing the underlying causes.

In a recent study, Delitto et al. (2015) sought to compare the efficacy of surgical decompression to physical therapy treatment for LSS. Here are the details:

• Study Participants: 169 surgery-eligible participants with LSS over age 50.
• Study Design: Participants were randomly assigned to either surgery (87) or physical therapy (82), with a 24-month follow-up. The study took place from November 2000 to September 2007.
• Results: The research team found no significant differences in outcomes between the two groups at a 24-month follow-up.
• Conclusion: Patients should be provided with full disclosure about surgical and non-surgical treatment options.

Decompression surgery for LSS carries with it inherent risks for patients, which should not be taken lightly.

Risks include:

• General risks associated with anesthesia
• Injury to nerves or your spinal cord
• Failure to heal properly
• No improvement post-surgery
• Infection and pain at the surgery site
• High medical expenses
• Prolonged recovery time

Physical therapy, on the other hand, carries with it minimal risks, and multiple benefits, including improved overall fitness, improved function, and improved spinal range of motion. PT requires no recovery time, and you will see gradual improvements over the course of your treatment.

In most cases, a surgeon will recommend physical therapy as a follow-up treatment to LSS decompression surgery.