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Neck, upper-extremity pain can be treated conservatively with success
Researchers found neck and upper-extremity pain was able to be treated conservatively in patients undergoing anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for degenerative disc disease and radiculopathy; however, duration of symptoms was directly related to outcomes.
The researchers conducted a post hoc analysis on an original prospective clinical study, which included 58 patients undergoing one- or two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) surgeries for cervical degenerative radiculopathy. The researchers evaluated neck and arm pain with VAS and SF-36 physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores. Mean follow-up was 37.2 months.
Patients were divided equally into two groups for clinical outcome analyses based on whether they underwent surgery within 6 months or after more than 6 months from the onset of symptoms. No statistically significant differences between the patients’ clinical or demographic parameters were reported.
The researchers found patients who had surgery within 6 months reported significantly higher reduction in arm pain scores compared with the patients who waited more than 6 months. No significant differences between the two groups in terms of postoperative neck pain were observed, according to the researchers. – by Robert Linnehan.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.