• J Tenhula, L G Lenke, K H Bridwell, P Gupta, and D Riew.
• Physical Therapy Specialists in Neurology and Orthopaedics, and Washington University Program in Physical Therapy, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
• J Spinal Disord. 2000 Aug 1; 13 (4): 276-82.

AbstractA prospective evaluation of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis undergoing operative treatment was performed using treadmill-bicycle functional testing as well as Oswestry and Visual Analog Pain scales for self-assessment. Thirty-two patients undergoing spinal stenosis decompression with and without a concomitant spinal fusion were prospectively evaluated, preoperatively and a minimum of 2 years postoperatively. Surgical treatment was demonstrated to produce significant improvement in walking ability, and to a lesser degree, in the ability to bicycle 2 years postoperatively. Improvement in patient function demonstrated on the Oswestry questionnaire correlated with decreased pain observed on the Visual Analog Pain scale. The treadmill-bicycle test appears to be a useful tool for the differential diagnosis of neurogenic claudication and may be used as an objective test of postoperative outcome.

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