Does the presence of preoperative neck pain impact clinical outcomes after posterior decompression in patients with cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament?: Retrospective multicenter cohort study.

It emerges that lower pre- and postoperative JOA scores or larger C2-7 angles in neutral and extension positions predispose to postoperative neck pain even in those patients without preoperative neck pain. Therefore, this is worth discussing at the time of consenting patients for surgical decompression and fixation.