What are some common medical and surgical treatments for lower back pain?
Lumbar spinal fusion surgery is a common surgical treatment for low back pain or degenerative disc disease. While it is often effective in reducing pain, the surgery puts additional stress on the remaining mobile segments that may lead to adjacent segment degeneration and recurrence of symptoms. Common medical treatments for lower back pain include physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications and in some cases, spinal injections. Now, orthopaedic surgeons at the University of Maryland are using the CHARITÉ™ artificial spinal disc, which is the first motion preserving alternative to lumbar spinal fusion surgery. What are the advantages of disc replacement surgery with the CHARITÉ™? The CHARITÉ™ disc helps preserve motion and alleviate lower back pain. Results from a two-year clinical study of 375 patients showed that those with the artificial disc improved or maintained their range of motion and experienced less pain sooner compared with patients who had spinal fusion. Another advant
