Less than a week after total knee replacement surgery, Karen Schrader is walking around on her farm

Orthopedic Services

Back Pain

For 65 million Americans, lower back pain is a chronic condition, affecting everything from their mood to simple activities such as walking, bending, lifting and even sitting.

Pain can radiate from the back or neck and often is associated with pain or weakness in the hands and arms, as well as the buttocks and legs. While physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications and steroid treatments may help alleviate the pain, longtime sufferers disabled by back pain may benefit from surgery.

Degenerative Disc Disease

Degenerative disc disease is caused when the spine loses its shock- absorbing characteristics the flexible discs between the spinal vertebrae. It also can result from trauma-related or athletic injuries. When compression of the discs pinches spinal nerve roots, severe pain may call for spinal fusion surgery.

Spinal Fusion Surgery

Spinal fusion surgery involves removing the damaged disc and then permanently fusing together the vertebrae above and below the space. To stop the spine from collapsing after surgeons remove a damaged disc, special titanium ‘cages’ are used as a splint to help maintain the disc space height and stabilize the spine while new bone grows inside and outside the cage. The result is new, fused bone connected to the surrounding vertebrae.

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