Together with neck problems, back problems are the most common musculoskeletal disorders in the Netherlands (VZinfo, 2023). Low back pain is generally defined as "pain and discomfort, localized below the costal margin and above the inferior gluteal folds, with or without referred leg pain" (Airaksinen et al., 2006). In the Netherlands there were 548.700 new cases of back complaints in 2021: 224.200 men and 324.400 women (VZinfo, 2023). Low back pain is also highly prevalent worldwide, affecting up to 80% of the population at least once in their lifetime, whilst 10% of these patients develop chronic pain (Baliga et al., 2015;Oostrom et al., 2011). Back pain is a collection of disorders with very diverse and often unknown causes. Although it is clear that back complaints often reoccur (Koes et al., 2006), the complaints are usually classified in the international literature according to their duration: acute back pain (lasting less than 6 weeks), subacute back pain (lasting 6 to 12 weeks) and chronic back pain (lasting more than 12 weeks) (Koes et al., 2010). About 50-75% of patients recover (mostly) within 6 weeks. It is estimated that approximately 25-50% of patients develop chronic complaints to a greater or lesser extent. These patients have a lower chance of recovery. Back complaints reoccur more often and more seriously in people who have had frequent or long-term back complaints in the past (Vlaeyen et al., 2018). In only 10% of patients, a specific cause of their back pain can be identified (Maher et al., 2017), such as vertebral fracture, malignancies, axial spondyloarthritis (Bechterew's disease), spondylolisthesis (vertebral shear), spondylodiscitis (epidural abscess), cauda equina syndrome and spinal epidural haemorrhage .In patients with low back pain, initial management includes conservative treatment and/or advice to stay active (Vlaeyen et al., 2018). When this does not suffice and symptoms can be (partially) attributed to specific pathology (e.g., spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis, or degenerative disc disease), spinal surgery is a potential alternative (Jacobs et al., 2013;Sigmundsson et al., 2013). Spinal fusion and decompression surgery are two different types of spinal surgery. Spinal fusion is a type of surgery used to relieve complaints of spondylolisthesis, whereas decompression surgery is used in cases with spinal stenosis. These procedures have been done for many years, but have recently gained popularity due to the increasing availability of modern material that makes the procedures safer and more effective. Nonetheless, it is still crucial to consider whether surgery is really needed (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Neurochirurgie, 2023). For spinal surgery patients the incentive to undergo surgery is mainly reduction of pain. Even though the prospect of surgery can be favorable, as it might relief complaints, other outcomes are also possible. Firstly, recovering from surgery is often accompanied by acute, postoperative pain. The worldwide prevalence of moderate to severe postoperative pai...