Fig. 5
Results of clinical efficacy of functional scores. A Changes in VAS-LP scores over time. B Changes in VAS-BP scores over time. C Changes in JOA score over time. D Changes in ODI score over time. VAS-LP, Visual Analog Scale for leg pain; VAS-BP, Visual Analog Scale for back pain; JOA, Japanese Orthopedic Association; ODI, Oswestry Disability Index. a-e indicate the letter labelling of the time point difference (comparison within the group), if 2 time points have the same letter, there is no significant difference between the 2 time points (P > 0.05); otherwise, different letters at 2-time points mean the difference is significant (P ≤ 0.05)