Objective To systematically evaluate the effects of different rehabilitation nursing models on chronic pain, quality of life, and functional status in patients after lumbar spine surgery.

Methods PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, VIP, WanFang Data databases were electronically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating different rehabilitation nursing models in patients after lumbar spine surgery from inception to December 31, 2025. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of the included studies. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.4 and R 4.4.5 software.

Results A total of 21 RCTs involving 1,804 patients after lumbar spine surgery were included. The Meta-analysis showed that, in terms of pain intensity, postoperative Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores were significantly lower in the rehabilitation nursing intervention group than in the conventional nursing group [MD=-0.67, 95%CI (-1.27, -0.07),P=0.036]. Regarding quality of life, no statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups in the bodily pain domain score of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) [MD=6.83, 95%CI (-5.89, 19.55),P=0.226]. In terms of functional impairment, rehabilitation nursing interventions significantly reduced the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score [MD=-5.65, 95%CI (-8.34, -2.95),P < 0.001]. Subgroup analysis revealed that comprehensive interventions significantly improved ODI scores, but current evidence is insufficient to demonstrate superiority over other rehabilitation nursing models.

Conclusion Current evidence suggests that rehabilitation nursing interventions may provide certain benefits in reducing pain intensity and functional impairment in patients after lumbar spine surgery; however, clear evidence supporting an improvement in quality of life remains insufficient.

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