Artificial Disk Replacement – The Ultimate Spinal Pain Treatment

By Author: Deon Duckward
Total Articles: 17
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No doubt we have set new benchmarks in all walks of life but have also become prone to many diseases at the same time. Diabetes, High Blood Pressure and of course, Spinal Pain are some of the major health complications today. The later is believed to be very disturbing and can be critical if proper medication is avoided for long.

Several studies show that the biggest victim of this is the United States. Severe low back pain is the reason of disability in most Americans. This suffering commonly affects everybody once in the lifetime. Doctors are consistently trying to fix the problem developing new treatment methods. Artificial disk replacement is one name highly recommended for the complication.

Artificial disk replacement is latest surgical procedure for fast relieving the problem of low back pain. It is similar to knee joint replacement in orthopedic surgery. Here a mechanical device is replaced with a disk replacement for an intervertebral disk in the spinal cord. The device helps restore motion to the spine replacing the degenerated and worn disk. In the other words, these mechanical devices are meant to ...
... stimulate spinal function.

In a short period of time, it has emerged as one of the best alternatives for the treatment of low back pain worldwide.
This technology has been used in Europe for over a century whereas in U.S. it got FDA approval for use in the year 2004. And with time, several other artificial disk replacement designs were also developed and tested for successful operation.

Disk design mainly consists of the nucleus and the annulus in place. This design, however, is still in an analytical stage for enhanced performances and results. In many cases, the entire design substitutes the nucleus & the outer ring called annulus with a mechanical device that further aid in simulating spinal function.

There are several other disk designs for usage and each one is unique. All of them aim at reproducing the range & function of any regular intervertebral disk used the low back pain treatment.

Most disks are made using metal, while others are an amalgamation of metal as well as plastic, which are common in joint replacements meant for hip & knee. The other materials used include medical grade titanium alloy or cobalt chromium and medical grade plastic namely polyethylene.

The surgical implantation procedure is similar to an anterior lumbar interbody fusion that involves an incision in the abdomen.

This particular approach moves aside the blood vessels and the organs for surgeon to easily access the spine without changing the position of the nerves. This treatment is suggested to a candidate only after few tests that include x-rays, discography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computed tomography popular as CAT or CT scan. These tests help in determining the source of pain in the body.

It is seen that patients generally recover in weeks after the following surgical treatment. It is found really useful for improving lower back pain and thus minimizing spinal disability in people.

Resource : Artificial Disk Replacement | Cervical Fusion | Lumbar Fusion.