Recovering independence for patients with lumbar disc treated surgically

Introduction
The study is about the process of recovering independence after disease. The determinant of the independence is the ability of the patient to self-care which is described as daily performed actions to maintain function and development. The research is based on analysis of the criteria that help determine the condition of the patient before and after the procedure. These criteria describe the independence of the patient.

Aim of the study
The purpose of the study was the analysis of selected factors that affect recovery of independence in patients with lumbar disc disease treated surgically and the assessment of their self-reliance based on selected criteria.

Material and methods
The study was conducted in 60 patients which undergone the surgical procedure due to discopathy in the lumbar section of the spine in The Norbert Barlicki University Clinical Hospital in Lodz. There were 32 women and 28 men in the age range 18-84 years. The assess-ment of independence was based on questionnaires made by the authors of the study.

Results
Forty percent of the patients who reported lumbar pain had no pain within 30 days of the operation. After performed surgical procedure 50% of the experimental group did not take analgesics, 37% took them in pain, and 13% still had to take painkillers. The focal neurologi-cal deficit in the form of stumbling decreased by 15% in comparison to baseline (dysphagia occurred in 30% of the patients after the surgery).

Conclusions
Improvement of the studied criteria was achieved. The improvement of the results in selected criteria showed the level of advance in independence of the patients.