Neuropathic pain and sarcopenia based on skeletal muscle mass assessment following lumbar spinal stenosis surgery: a prospective observational study in Japan

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between neuropathic pain (NeP) and skeletal muscle mass following lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) surgery. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Sarcopenia generally worsens clinical outcomes in degenerative diseases. Although a high prevalence of sarcopenia is observed in patients with LSS, it is reported that sarcopenia does not significantly affect the clinical symptoms of lumbar degenerative diseases; thus, its role must be reconsidered in LSS alongside other factors such as spinal alignment and degree of stenosis. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated improvements in leg pain and lower limb skeletal muscle mass in 421 patients who underwent surgical treatment for LSS. Bilateral limb muscle mass was compared in 260 patients with unilateral leg pain. The association between postoperative muscle mass increase and improvement in leg pain (Visual Analog Scale [VAS] score