查看文章

We report on the use and performance of an objective measure of functional impairment, the timed up and go (TUG) test, in clinical practice for patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease (DDD). We illustrate nine representative patients with lumbar DDD, who were selected from an ongoing prospective study, to report our clinical experience with the TUG test. In addition, a preliminary sample of 30 non-selected consecutive patients is presented. The following parameters were assessed preoperatively, and 3 days and 6 weeks postoperatively: back and leg pain using the visual analogue scale (VAS); functional impairment using the Oswestry disability index (ODI) and Roland–Morris disability index (RMDI); health-related quality of life using the EuroQol 5D (EQ5D) and Short-Form 12 (SF-12). The TUG test results improved by 2.6 and 5.4 s after 3 days and 6 weeks compared to the baseline assessment. The …