Persistent Post-Operative Low Back Pain, True Radiculopathy and Pseudoradiculopathy: Retrospective Observational Study and Point of View of a Practicing Clinician

Purpose: Persistent Postoperative Low Back Pain (PLBP) is inordinately common, and has been attributed to various pre-operative and post-operative anatomical and mechanical factors in the spine. It may or may not be associated with sensory symptoms in the lower extremities—frequently termed “radiculopathy”—with or without Electromyographic (EMG) or imaging abnormalities. The present study aimed to look at these various symptoms in the lower extremities from a different angle and perspective and to clarify the distinction between true radiculopathy and pseudoradiculopathy;and determine their possible relationship with the outcome of surgery. Methods: Medical records of twenty-four patients with PLBP who were referred to the author for clinical and electrodiagnostic examinations several months after surgery were reviewed. Clinical symptomatology, with special reference to the presence or absence of sensory and motor deficits together with EMG findings, were reviewed and categorized into 4 groups: non radicular, true radiculopathy, pseudoradiculopathy, and peripheral neuropathy. Results: Lower Back Pain (LBP) in all patients persisted following successful and uncomplicated surgery. LBP in patients with true radiculopathy persisted but was less disabling when the neurologic deficits resolved partially or significantly. As expected, the neurologic deficits related to peripheral neuropathy, together with LBP, remained persistent. Conclusion: LBP and various sensory and motor symptoms in the lower extremities are 2 distinct entities, both clinically and pathophysiologically. These sensory and motor symptoms, together with the heightened activity of various pro-inflammatory cytokines and neurotrophins—setting aside the various anatomical and mechanical factors in the spine—can influence the outcome of surgery, favorably or unfavorably.

Needle Electromyography, F-Wave, and H-Reflex: A Critical Reappraisal of Their Utility in the Diagnosis of Various Sensory Symptoms in the Extremities and Spine in the Setting of Normal Neurological Examination

Objective: Health care providers refer their patients to electromyography (EMG) laboratories for the evaluation of various sensory symptoms in the extremities and spine. The procedure is usually performed in conjunction with transcutaneous electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves and elicitation of the F-wave and H-reflex. The present study aimed to determine the real value of these procedures in the diagnosis of sensory symptoms in the setting of a normal neurologic examination. Method: The EMG reports and clinical histories of 100 patients, including 10 patients evaluated by other electromyographers, were reviewed. The study was focused on those with normal neurological examinations and those without histories of ongoing medical disorders and major surgeries to the extremities and spine. Results: All EMGs, F-wave, and H-reflex reports reviewed were normal, including those obtained from the second procedure performed in some patients and of those who subsequently underwent spinal surgery. Neurologic examination in all patients was normal. Conclusion: Needle EMG, F-wave and H-Reflex examinations are predictably normal in patients with non-dermatomal, non-neuropathic sensory symptoms with normal neurologic examination and without history of preexisting medical and surgical disorders. A good neurologic examination should determine the need to perform these procedures. Our findings have important diagnostic, therapeutic, prognostic, economic and legal implications.