The effectiveness of lumbosacral corset in symptomatic degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis.

Lumbosacral corset is a spinal support widely used for patients suffering from low back pain due to various conditions. To evaluate the effectiveness of the corset in symptomatic degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis, twenty one patients (mean age 62.5 +/- 5.2 years) with neurogenic claudication (mean onset 9.0 +/- 9.3 months) were recruited for and completed a self controlled comparative study (with and without a corset). Quantitative and qualitative assessment in terms of walking distance and pain score (0-10 point visual analog scale) in daily activities respectively, compared between wearing and not wearing the corset were measured. The outcome of the study showed statistically significant improvement in walking distance (393.2 +/- 254.0 m and 314.6 +/- 188.8 m) and decrement of pain score in daily activities (4.7 +/- 1.4 and 5.9 +/- 1.0) with and without corset dressing respectively. This result supports the positive effect of the lumbosacral corset in pain relief and functional improvement of the degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis condition.