PSYCHOLOGICALASSESSMENT IN SURGICALLY TREATED PATIENTS WITH LUMBAR RADICULOPATHY

<p>High frequency of appearance and use of expensive diagnostic and therapeutic methods makes lumbar radiculopathy the most expensive benign disease. The aim of the study was evaluation of types psychological reactions in surgically treated patients with chronic lumbar radiculopathy. Matherial and methods: We examined 50 surgically treated patients who had low back pain. The patients were multidisciplinary examined and treated on Medical Rehabilitation Clinic in Novi Sad. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personal Inventory (MMPI) was used to determine the personality profiles. Patients were tested after rehabilitation treatment. Results of the exploring showed the normal profile of personality in 70 % of patients and pathological profile in 30 % ( hypochondria in 8, hysteria in 5 patients and depression in 2 patients). All groups showed improvement in functional limitation during the rehabilitation treatment. Severity and length of pain after rehabilitation treatment is bigger in the group of patients with pathological profile of personality (p<0,005). Psychological factors may play an important role in the onset, severity, exacerbation, or maintenance of this type of chronic pain. Screening surgically treated patients with chronic lumbar radiculopathy with MMPI may be effective in identifying psychopathology</p>