Pre- and postoperative rehabilitation for patients undergoing single or double level lumbar fusion for degenerative conditions

Lumbar fusion shows an international rising trend. Despite high fusion rates of more than 80%, approximately 40% of patients report suboptimal functional recovery and postoperative return to work is underwhelming, thereby further increase the socio-economic impact. This draws the attention towards rehabilitation in both the pre- and postoperative period. To date, high variability exists among health care providers in availability and content of rehabilitation, reflecting the lack of scientific consensus. The present research proposal seeks to address this need for consensus, by 1) developing a perioperative rehabilitation pathway for single- and double level lumbar fusion for degenerative conditions, that is endorsed by stakeholders and 2) evaluate the effectiveness of this rehabilitation pathway to improve important outcomes for patients and our society.