Impact of Exercise Program on Functional Status among Post- Lumbar Laminectomy Patients

A laminectomy is a surgical incision performed to remove herniated intervertebral discs. Strengthening and stretching exercise program helps post-laminectomy patients to move and do routine activities without putting extra strain on their backs, relieve their pain leading to improvement of functional status. Aim: to evaluate the impact of exercise program on functional status among post-lumbar laminectomy patients’. Design; quasi-experimental design. Setting: This study was conducted at the neurosurgery department of El-Manial University Hospital, Cairo. Sample: A purposive sample of 30 male and female adult patients undergoing lumbar laminectomy was recruited in this study. Tools: data were collected utilizing the following tools: 1) The Structured Interview Questionnaire, including socio-demographic and related medical data. 2) Physical Assessment Sheet, and 3) Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire. Results: the study findings revealed that the majority of study subjects were males, married and have normal musculoskeletal posture. All participants had severe low back pain and high level of functional disabilities preoperatively. A significant difference in pain intensity and functional ability was evident between the preoperative period and six weeks postoperatively after implementing the exercise program. Recommendations; A written hospital clinical guideline on the common causes and safe post-laminectomy exercises is recommended to be established. Replication of this study on a larger sample and in different hospital settings with increasing the duration of implementing the postoperative exercise program treatment. Keywords: exercise program, functional status, lumbar laminectom