RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: To evaluate clinical outcomes with PDD as compared with patients who underwent to standard physiotherapy intervention. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One-hundred-seventy-seven randomly assigned patients with primarily radicular pain associated with a single-level lumbar contained disc herniation were enrolled. Participants received either PDD (89 patients) or conservative physiotherapy care (88 patients). RESULTS: Patients in the PDD group had significantly greater reduction in leg pain scores and significantly improved VAS (p<0.001), Oswestry Disability Index (p<0.05), and 36-Item Short Form, than those in the physiotherapy group at 12 months. On subset analysis, patients achieved even better outcomes after PPD who: were younger, had a shorter period of radiculopathy, of male gender, and lower BMI. Patients with subacute pain reported better outcomes than those with chronic pain in the PDD group. CONCLUSIONS: Patient selection for PDD over physiotherapy favored younger patients who presented with a shorter period of pain symptoms and who had a more favorable body habitus.