Evaluation of treatment efficacy in athletes who returned to sport after lumbar disc herniation surgery

Aim. The paper aims to evaluate the efficacy of various surgical treatments of professional athletes who returned to sport after lumbar disc herniation surgery (removal). Materials and methods. The study involved male athletes (mean age - 23.71 ± 3.47 years) of various martial arts and team sports. All athletes (n = 18) were diagnosed with disk herniation at the L5-S1 level. Various surgical treatments were used: spondylodesis (group 1) and endoprosthesis (group 2). The research period lasted 9 months. Treatment efficacy was evaluated using the VAS scores, the Oswestry index (ODI), and MRI data (Fujiwara method). Results. Significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences in the values of VAS, ODI, and MRI data were found in the study groups 6 and 9 months after surgery. It was found that athletes (group 1) with spondylodesis had higher scores of VAS, ODI, and degenerative processes in adjacent joints (Fujiwara). Conclusion. It was found that athletes (group 1) with spondylodesis experienced an increase in lower back pain, on average, 6 months after surgery and 4 months after returning to sport. In athletes (group 2), there was no increase in pain syndrome.