Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Results
By Mayo Clinic staffSpinal fusion is typically an effective treatment for fractures, deformities or instability in the spine. But study results are more mixed when the cause of the back or neck pain is unclear. In many cases, spinal fusion is no more effective than nonsurgical treatments for nonspecific back pain.
It can be difficult to be certain about what exactly is causing your back pain, even if a herniated disk or bone spurs show up on your X-rays. Many people have X-ray evidence of back problems that have never caused them any pain. So your pain might not be associated with whatever problem has been revealed on your imaging scans.
Even when spinal fusion provides symptom relief, it can eventually result in more back pain in the future. Immobilizing a section of your spine places additional stress and strain on the areas around the fused portion. This may increase the rate at which those areas of your spine degenerate — so you may need additional spinal surgery in the future.
- Spinal fusion. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://www.orthoinfo.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00348. Accessed Aug. 22, 2012.
- Chou R. Subacute and chronic low-back pain: Surgical treatment. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Aug. 22, 2012.
- Firestein GS, et al. Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-6/0/1807/0.html. Accessed Aug. 23, 2012.
- Canale ST, et al. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-4/0/1584/0.html. Accessed Aug. 23, 2012.
- Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. Lumbar interbody fusion. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2011.
- Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. Surgery for your cervical spine. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2011.
- AskMayoExpert. Cervical spine surgery. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2012.
- AskMayoExpert. Bone morphogenetic proteins. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2011.
- Wheeler SG, et al. Approach to the diagnosis and evaluation of low back pain in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Aug. 23, 2012.
Find Mayo Clinic on