Every year, people miss nearly 150 million working days as a result of chronic lower back pain. It’s estimated that back pain affects about 80 percent of adults at some point in time in their lives. About 25 percent of adults reported feeling back pain at some time in the last three months.
Usually, treating back pains involves physical therapy, exercise, and medications. But in more severe cases, surgery and the placement of spinal implants might be essential. Spinal implants (a category of orthopaedic implants) are not the right choice for everyone with back pain, but they can be an ideal option for some.
What Do Spinal Implants do?
Spinal implants have many roles to play, both during spinal fusion surgery and without it. What spinal does depend mainly on the type of implant they are and the group they belong to. Implants can help in the following-
- Facilitate the fusion of two vertebrae
- Improve the spine’s stability
- Increase the strength of the spine
- Correct if there are any deformities
Why You Might Need Spinal Implants?
Spine implants are usually used as a part of spinal fusion surgery. The implants help to hold the vertebrae in position while your spine heals from the surgery. Although surgery is usually the last option for people with back pain, there are specific cases when it might be the best option.
- Arthritis of the Spine: Severe cases of arthritis in the spine can lead to a significant amount of movement between the two vertebrae, making the spine unstable. The instability can cause a person to experience feelings of weakness in the arms and legs, as well as pain in the limbs and lower back. If left to progress, the condition can cause a narrowing of the spinal canal or spinal stenosis.
- Scoliosis and other deformities of the spine: Scoliosis develops when the spine bends sideways. It mostly occurs in the early stages of puberty and is most commonly very mild. There are cases where the curve is very different, which can lead to chronic back pain, as well as problems with the lungs and heart. While mild cases often don’t need treatment or can be remedied by wearing a back brace, spinal fusion and spinal implants can help to correct the more severe cases of scoliosis. The implants help to hold the spine in place and prevent it from bending.
- Broken Vertebrae: It is common for broken vertebrae to heal on their own, without the need for the treatment. But if the vertebrae do not heal completely or if the spine becomes unstable afterward, spinal implants can restore the stability.
- Spondylolisthesis: When a person has spondylolisthesis, a vertebra has moved out of position, onto the bone just below it. In some cases, the slipped vertebra can put pressure on the nerve below which causes discomfort. Although it is possible to be born with a congenital form of the disease, the most common kind is degenerative spondylolisthesis. Degenerative spondylolisthesis can develop as a person gets older and the discs between the spinal bones become smaller.
Spinal implants can help correct the condition if it does not respond to other, more conservative kinds of treatment. Usually, spinal fusion is performed along with a laminectomy, a surgery that removes the part of the bone that puts pressure on the nerves.
Herniated Disk: Sometimes called a slipped disk, a herniated disk is one that has broken. The fluid that used to be inside the disk can irritate the nerves around it which causes pain. Generally, surgery involves removing the burst disc, performing spinal fusion. The fusion and implants help to stabilize the spine.
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