Originally Posted by
MoAlpha
Pain in spinal degeneration comes from impingement on nerve roots. Spinal cord compression, whole more serious, is painless, although it can produce a range of funny sensations as well as weakness.
I am riding a 5” drop to the top of the bars the below, but as you can see, I have prosthetic discs above and below a fusion to fix 3-level disease, which is not common in the US at this point. Nevertheless, I would recommend anyone headed for ACDF to ask their surgeon about prostheses.
I have a prosthetic disc at L5-S1, surgery in 2004. When I had it done, it was still in the clinical trial phase, hence, I was in the study. I returned once a year, for 7 years, for an exam and consultation. Many people did not do well with this procedure, but fortunately, I have, and still am, doing well with the artificial disc. I believe it is no longer being done at that spine level. When I had my cervical fusion, 2007,I was actually going to have the same type of disc at c5-c6, however, bone density scan eliminated that option due to osteopenia, hence the fusion. I was part of clinical study for that, also. It came with the same 7 year exam/consultation appointments. The last year, or so, my range of motion in that area has declined, while pain issues have increased. Everything comes with a cost. Though a definite plus for patients like myself, these kinds of procedures always affect other areas. My entire spinal column has definitely degenerated over the years. Keeping active in a smart fashion is critical for the long term.