Study on the effect of rehabilitation intervention timing on symptom cluster relief after lumbar spine surgery: A retrospective cohort study

To investigate the effects of different rehabilitation intervention timing on symptom cluster relief after lumbar spine surgery, and provide scientific evidence for developing optimal postoperative rehabilitation strategies for lumbar spine surgery. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 223 patients who received lumbar spine surgery treatment in the Department of Spine Surgery of our hospital from January 2023 to December 2024. According to the timing of rehabilitation intervention, patients were divided into three groups: early rehabilitation group (starting from 1 day preoperatively to the day of surgery, n=75), conventional rehabilitation group (starting 3-7 days postoperatively, n=74), and delayed rehabilitation group (starting 8-14 days postoperatively, n=74). Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to assess pain intensity, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) lumbar spine disease evaluation and treatment score were used to assess functional status, Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) was used to assess quality of life. The time to first ambulation, time to return to work, and complications within 30 days postoperatively were recorded. The baseline characteristics of the three groups were comparable (P>0.05). At 1 month and 6 months postoperatively, VAS scores in the early rehabilitation group were significantly lower than those in the conventional rehabilitation group and delayed rehabilitation group (P