• Suk Hyung Kang, Jin Seo Yang, Yong Jun Cho, Seung Won Park, and Kwang Pil Ko.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Spine Center, Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Korea. Electronic address: nscharisma@hanmail.net.
• World Neurosurg. 2014 Jul 1;82(1-2):e9-e14.

ObjectiveThere are many factors associated with the symptom presentation of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). However, there are only few reports regarding the clinical feature of LDH in military medicine. The objective of this study is to determine the factors that affected the symptoms of LDH in young Korean soldiers.MethodsOne hundred thirty male soldiers, diagnosed with LDH, were enrolled in this study. They were divided into four groups, according to their military ranks: private, private first class, corporal, and sergeant. The visual analog scale for low back pain (VAS-LBP), the VAS for leg pain (VAS-LP), and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were evaluated. The education level and military rank were also reviewed and their relationship with the degree of symptoms was investigated.ResultsThe mean age for the male subjects enrolled was 20.7 ± 1.2. The mean VAS-LBP, VAS-LP, and ODI were 6.6% ± 1.7%, 7.1% ± 1.9%, and 46.0% ± 16.3%, respectively. There was no statistically significant relationship between the degree of symptoms and the radiologic findings. However, the military rank had an inverse correlation with the VAS scores and the ODI (P < 0.05).ConclusionOur data showed that the military rank was associated with the symptom presentation of LDH and reflected the characteristics of military life.Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

26 keywords...

hide…