The Effectiveness of Anti-Gravity Treadmill Training

The primary objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of standard for our practice postoperative physical therapy (PT) program to a PT program that incorporates lower body positive pressure (LBPP) treadmill training for the patients after lumbar discectomy and fusion surgeries.

A prospective, randomized, parallel group controlled clinical study is proposed. The patients will be divided into the two study groups according to the surgical procedure: 1. patients undergoing one-level microdiscectomy for lumbar herniated disc 2. patients undergoing one-level lumbar fusion for degenerative disc disease without notable spinal stenosis. Each group will consist of 60 patients (see sample size calculations below) who will be randomized into the two equal groups to undergo: 1. Standard postoperative rehabilitation program 2. Standard postoperative rehabilitation program with addition of lower body positive pressure (LBPP) treadmill training