New Mini-Surgery aims to ease back pain faster

This study is comparing two surgical techniques for treating painful spinal stenosis in the lower back. Researchers want to see if a newer, less invasive 'mini-open' surgery leads to less blood loss, shorter hospital stays, and faster recovery compared to the traditional open surgery, while providing the same level of pain relief and improved function. About 224 adults with persistent back and leg pain will be randomly assigned to receive one of the two surgeries and followed for two years to compare results.