Functional Capacity of Patients Operated on Due to Lumbar Discopathy in the Early Postoperative Period

Introduction. The main symptom of lumbar disc herniation is pain, which particularly hinders the functioning of the patient. Functional capacity should be understood as the ability to be independent of other people in meeting basic needs, such as: movement, nutrition, controlling the body’s physiological activities or performing hygiene activities. Aim. The aim of the study was to assess the functioning of patients after lumbar spine surgery in the early postoperative period. Material and Methods. The study included a group of 52 adult patients after lumbar spine surgery performed at the Department of Neurosurgery of the 10th Military Clinical Hospital with the Polyclinic of the SP ZOZ in Bydgoszcz. The method of diagnostic survey was used, the tools were: interview questionnaire, VAS scale, Roland-Morris Low Back Pain Questionnaire, Oswestry Questionnaire and Beck Depression Scale. Results. More than half of the examined patients after lumbar spine surgery felt the intensity of pain at the average level, very strong pain affected nearly 10% (mean 4.44; SD 2.03). According to the Roland-Morris Low Back Pain Questionnaire, nearly 60% of patients showed a moderate level of disability and 35% a high level of disability (mean 15.33; SD 3.85). According to the Oswestry Questionnaire, 53% of patients had moderate disability, 31% had severe disability (mean 54.7%, SD 11.3%). 83% of respondents did not show symptoms of depression (mean 6.98; SD 5.63). Conclusions. The functional capacity of patients after surgery of the lumbar spine turned out to be low, a large part of the respondents showed a medium and high degree of disability. The degree of disability increased with the severity of pain. (JNNN 2022;11(4):147–153)