Do Grit and Self-Control Impact Outcomes following Spine Surgery? Early Findings from A Prospective Study Evaluating the Association between Grit and Self-Control

Introduction: In spine surgery, outcomes can vary significantly, despite proper indications and surgery without complications. Grit is defined as trait-level perseverance and passion for long-term goals within challenging domains. Self-control is the voluntary regulation of behavioral, emotional, and attentional impulses in the presence of momentarily gratifying temptations or diversions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential relationship between a patient's grit and self-control and their outcomes following 1-2 level spine surgery for degenerative pathology.

Methods: In this prospective study, participants' levels of grit and self-control were evaluated using the Short Grit Survey (GRIT-S) and Self-Control Surveys (SC). A total of 18 patients underwent 1-2 level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) or cervical disc replacement (CDR), while 65 patients underwent 1-2 level lumbar laminectomy or microdiscectomy (MCD). Preoperative assessments of ODI, NDI, and VAS scores were conducted, followed by subsequent evaluations at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months postoperatively. Spearman correlation tests were employed to analyze the association between preoperative GRIT scores and postoperative ODI and NDI scores.

Results: No significant correlation between preoperative grit scores and 6-week or 3-month postoperative ODI scores in patients who underwent lumbar laminectomy or MCD procedures (r=-0.02, p>0.05 at 6 weeks; r=0.03, p>0.05 at 3 months). Similarly, no significant correlation was found between preoperative self-control scores and 6-week or 3-month postoperative ODI scores (r=0.18, p>0.05 at 6 weeks; r=0.15, p>0.05 at 3 months). Additionally, no significant correlation was observed between preoperative grit scores and 6-week or 3-month postoperative NDI scores in patients who underwent ACDF or CDR procedures (r=-0.01, p>0.05 at 6 weeks; r=-0.04, p>0.05 at 3 months), nor between preoperative self-control scores and 6-week or 3-month postoperative NDI scores (r=-0.22, p>0.05 at 6 weeks; r=-0.36, p>0.05 at 3 months).

Conclusion : There appears to be no discernible link between a patient's level of grit and self-control, as determined by their preoperative grit scores, and their short-term postoperative outcomes following 1-2 level spine surgery for degenerative disease. These results suggest that other variables may have a more substantial impact on the early outcome of these procedures.