European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effect of timing of rehabilitation on physical performance after lumbar spinal fusion: a randomized clinical study.
The number of patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion procedures (LSF) has risen in recent years, but only few studies have examined different rehabilitation strategies for this patient group. ⋯ No difference was found in the effect of initiating rehabilitation either 6 or 12 weeks after LSF on the patients' physical performance in terms of fitness and walking distance. The 6MWT showed fair to moderate correlation to the questionnaire-based outcome measures. The AF-test showed no significant independent value, and we question its use in LSF patients.