Grade 1 lumbar spondylolisthesis treatment
The majority of patients are asymptomatic and do not require surgical intervention.Symptomatic patients present with a combination of lower back pain, radiculopathy and/or neurogenic claudication and may warrant surgery if non-operative measures fail.There is widespread controversy regarding the indications for surgery and appropriate treatment strategies for patients with this type of spondylolisthesis 1).
For the majority of patients with low-grade degenerative spondylolisthesis who present with lower back pain without stenotic symptoms, the spondylolisthesis is static and symptoms do not deteriorate 2). This group of patients may benefit from a combination of non-operative therapeutic measures. Vibert et al and Kalichman and Hunter reviewed the evidence for therapeutic modalities including physiotherapy, analgesia, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, bracing, flexion/extension strengthening exercises, core stability exercises and spinal manipulation 3) 4)