Lack of Effectiveness of Bed Rest for Sciatica

The condition of patients with sciatica usually improves over time. 1 , 2 Several conservative therapies have been proposed for this disorder, with bed rest as a mainstay. For low back pain, bed rest has traditionally been considered effective, although there are few objective data to support this view, 3 and in recent years evidence of the ineffectiveness of bed rest for patients with low back pain has accumulated. 4 – 6 Although bed rest continues to be widely used to treat sciatica, 7 evidence from a randomized, controlled trial has been lacking. We conducted a randomized, controlled, blinded trial of the efficacy of two weeks . . .