Spinal fusion can be a very good treatment for some spinal conditions; however, it does not return your spine to “normal” as the normal spine has some degree of motion between vertebrae. To improve the chance of fusion being successful, some surgeons may use screws and connecting rods to secure the bones.
Spinal fusion may be performed for a variety of different reasons including:
- Lumbar spinal stenosis
- Lumbar degeneration (wear and tear) of the spinal structures leading to narrowing of the spinal canals
- Lower limb radiculopathy and neurogenic claudication
- Treatment of fractured (broken) vertebrae
- Correction of deformity
- Scoliosis
- Spondylolisthesis – a condition whereby one of the vertebra in the lower part of the spine slips forward or backward compared to the next vertebra
- Elimination of painful movement
- Treatment of instability
- Treatment of some disc herniations or bulge