Spine Center

Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT)

About SPORT | Why is SPORT important? | How was the SPORT research conducted? | How were the SPORT trial participants selected? | Who did the SPORT study? | What are the SPORT results? | SPORT resources


What Are the SPORT Results?

The results of SPORT have been released in three phases, in the order of the three conditions studied:

  • Intervertebral disc herniation, published in JAMA, November, 2006
  • Degenerative Spondylolisthesis, published in NEJM, May, 2007
  • Spinal Stenosis, planned publication—Fall, 2007

The first results are from the Intervertebral Disc Herniation trial. In summary, the study found that while both groups improved substantially after treatment, the improvement from standard surgery, a procedure called "disectomy," was more rapid. Patients who had surgery also reported better results in physical function and satisfaction one and two years after the operation.

The second results are from the trial for Degenerative Spondylolisthesis. In summary, the study found that patients with spinal stenosis accompanied by degenerative spondylolisthesis who were treated surgically showed substantially greater improvement in pain and function through two years follow-up than patients treated nonsurgically. Because patients in the randomized cohort "crossed over" either from the non-operative arm to have surgery or from the surgery arm to remain non-operative, the analyses were non-randomized, as-treated comparisons with careful control for potentially confounding baseline factors.

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