Motion-Sparing Spine Surgery

The body was designed to move.

As we age, however, injury or illness often affects our spines, making it difficult to move and take part in everyday activities. For many people, conservative spine care like physical therapy or injections, can help relieve the pain, but for some, surgery may be the only answer.

Spine surgery typically falls into two categories: fusion and motion-preserving. Both types of procedures are valid forms of spine surgery – which one will work best for you depends on a number of factors, including your condition, your goals, and your general health.

The more traditional fusion surgery uses a bone graft to permanently “fuse” two vertebrae together. Pain is generally eliminated but so is the motion between the segments, which can sometimes strain other parts of the spine.

On the other hand, motion-sparing spinal surgery gives you the best of both worlds – it relieves pressure on your spinal cord and nerves, and preserves your range of motion, without having to fuse the affected area.

Although an expert in both fusion and motion-sparing spine surgery, Dr. Albano considers himself a motion-sparing spine surgeon and is well-versed in the most advanced minimally invasive techniques.

The most common motion-sparing spine surgery Dr. Albano performs is artificial disc replacement for both the cervical (neck) and lumbar (lower back) areas of the spine.