Postoperative Bracing Patterns After Lumbar Surgery

Subjects: all neurosurgeons and orthopedical surgeons in Belgium Outcomes: The content of the questionnaire is based on a previously conducted study in the USA, cfr. "Bible, J. E., Biswas, D., Whang, P. G., Simpson, A. K., Rechtine, G. R., Grauer, J. N. (2009). Postoperative bracing after spine surgery for degenerative conditions: a questionnaire study. The Spine Journal, 9(4), p. 309-316." Permission to use this questionnaire was received from the corresponding author. More specifically, a single-page questionnaire will be distributed to all spinal surgeons affiliated to the Spine Society Belgium. The questionnaire will focus on whether surgeons typically immobilize patients after specific spinal procedures, the type of orthosis used, the duration of treatment, and the rationale for bracing. Data analysis: Both descriptive and inferential statistical methods will be used. The study Frequencies and percentages for categorical variables will be calculated. Chi-square analysis will be used. Significance level will be set at 0.05.