Treatment options for patients with spondylolisthesis include:
- Intermittent bracing
- Epidural steroid injections
- Anti-inflammatory medications
- Rest
Patients with persistent low back pain, nerve irritation and/or progression of the slip, require surgery in order to provide a more lasting relief and return to normal activities. When symptoms persist in children and young adults with stress fractures without vertebra shifting, a fracture repair procedure alone is often possible. For more cases with nerve compression and spondylolisthesis, a minimally invasive fusion procedure provides relief of the nerve compression and stabilization of the shifted vertebrae.
Our doctors have developed advanced surgical methods based upon stress relaxation to restore normal spinal alignment, trunk height, and body proportions. The preferred method of surgery is performed through one midline back incision. Anterior surgery (across the abdomen) is not required. Both fusion rates and spine biomechanics are enhanced by restoring the normal alignment of the spine. Clinical research with over 10-year follow-up has documented long-term clinical success with these procedures.