A new approach to spinal fusion for ending some back pain

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- At any given time, about one in four Americans is dealing with low back pain.

For muscles or tendons, rest and physical therapy can help. However, good solutions have been harder to find for the spinal column itself.

Now, there's a different procedure with less hospital time - and rapid results.

"March 6th of 2024," says Jan Simmons, of Chester Springs, PA., of the moment she can't forget. "It was the most excruciating pain that I have ever felt. Just walking up the driveway and I went into a cold sweat and went down on my knees."

Spine surgeon Dr. Michael Murray of Main Line Health says a disc between two vertebrae in Jan's back had deteriorated, allowing them to get out of alignment.

"Everything is lined up until you get down to this segment," Dr. Murray points out on the CT scan. "This bone, which we call the L4 bone, is shifted forward on the L5 bone. That shifting can result in pinching nerves."

Jan's MRI images show how much her nerves were pinched. The spinal column should show white the whole way down, however, it narrows and toward the bottom, is entirely charcoal gray.

"I was like this," Jan says, bending over 90 degrees to show how she was forced to stand and walk.

Ken Simmons says other doctors offered his wife no real help.

"They were going down the traditional route - physical therapy, shots. Meanwhile, you're not getting any better. She's getting worse," Ken says.

Dr. Murray says the traditional spinal fusion causes a lot of trauma.

"It's removing muscles from the spine. It's removing bone spurs, manually removing bone from the spine and using instruments to manipulate the nerves," he says.

Instead, he comes from a different direction - literally.

"We actually come in from the side here, find the disc that's no longer healthy, that is worn out. We remove the disc and we insert a metallic implant where that disc used to be," he explains. "It brings the bones back into position. And in doing that, it also removes pressure from the nerves."

Dr. Murray still inserts rods and screws to stabilize the spine and allow the vertebrae to grow together. But this method means one night in the hospital, not two to four, and recovery overall is much faster.

Jan's crippling pain vanished immediately.

"I was standing straight up. No pain, nothing going down my legs!" she said happily. "Going up and down stairs is nothing any more."

Dr. Murray says he can also operate from the front, leaving more of the back intact.

He says this procedure isn't for all back pain, but works very well for those with leg pain and believes it will become the standard for this type of back pain in the future.