FINDISC-Pain, Finnish Discectomy Trial on the Benefits and Harms of Surgery in Patients With Lumbar Disc Herniation

The FINDISC trial studies whether common back operation, microdiscectomy, is effective and safe for treating sciatica caused by a lumbar disc herniation. The study includes people whose leg pain has not improved after at least six weeks of non-surgical treatment. The FINDISC trial aims to recruit and randomly allocate 122 participants to receive either the actual operation (discectomy) or a placebo (sham) surgery. The placebo (sham) procedure involves anesthesia and an approach similar to the real operation, but no removal of disc material or bone. Participants and healthcare staff, excluding the surgical team, will not know which treatment was given. The study compares pain relief, recovery, daily functioning, quality of life, and harms between the two groups. The goal of the study is to provide reliable evidence to help patients and clinicians decide whether microdiscectomy offers meaningful benefits compared with placebo surgery.

NCT Number	NCT07418944
Lead Sponsor	Helsinki University Central Hospital
Conditions	Lumbar Disc Herniation With Radiculopathy, Sciatica
Enrollment	122 participants
Start Date	2026-02-19
Primary Completion	2030-12 (estimated)
Study Completion	2030-12 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-05-22