Neurosurgical researchers at St. George's University of London have discovered a "cheap and effective way" to improve outcomes after lumbar microdiscectomy: Let patients see and feel the results of their procedures.

The researchers hypothesized that patients undergoing lumbar microdiscectomy would heal better if they were give pieces of the excised disc material after surgery. Their prospective, double blind, randomized, controlled trial showed they were correct: The 38 patients who received disc fragments were more likely to report improved leg pain, back pain, limb weakness, paraesthesia and less analgesic use than the 36 patients who did not receive the surgical souvenirs.

"This study adds to the increasing evidence that beliefs have a marked impact on how the symptoms of an illness manifest themselves," writes clinical and research psychologist Vaughan Bell, PhD, on the neuroscience and psychology blog Mind Hacks. The study has been published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

Irene Tsikitas