Can timing of spine surgery predict how well arm weakness recovers?
NCT ID NCT07825545
First seen Sep 17, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are studying people who have surgery for cervical radiculopathy, a condition where a pinched nerve in the neck causes arm or hand weakness. The study follows about 2,000 patients to see how many recover full strength and whether factors like how severe the weakness was or how long it lasted before surgery affect the outcome. Participants answer questions about their strength and neck-related disability at 3 and 12 months after their operation. The goal is to help doctors and patients make better decisions about when to operate and what to expect.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- cervical spine surgery (anterior disc removal and fusion, or posterior decompression)
- What this could lead to
- If the study clarifies how weakness severity and how long symptoms last affect recovery, doctors and patients could make better-informed choices about when to operate.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study, so it can show patterns but cannot prove that surgery causes better recovery. Results may not apply to people with different spine conditions or to those who do not have surgery.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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2,000 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2012
- Finished
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Dec 2023
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
The study will include consecutive patients operated for DCR and registered in NORspine form January 2012 through 2022, approximately 12.000 cases. Patients operated for cervical myelopathy will be excluded. Otherwise patients under the age of 16, those operated for fractures, tumours and primary infections, as well as those unable to give informed consent, are not included in the NORspine.
- Ages
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16 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Surgery due to degenerative cervical radiculopathy with a preoperative muscle weakness * Posterior and anterior approach (ACDF/artificial disc replacement, posterior foramenotomi) Exclusion Criteria: * Myelopathy as surgical indication * Tumor as surgical indication * Infection as surgical indication * Fracture as surgcial indication * Posterior fusion and laminectomy * Prior cervical surgery * Anterior corpectomy
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Neurosurgical department, University Hospital of North Norway
Tromsø, 9010, Norway
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