Posterior Dynamic Stabilization of the Lumbar Spine Review of Biomechanical and Clinical Studies.

Fusion and rigid instrumentation have been the mainstay for the surgical treatment of degenerative diseases of the spine for many years. Dynamic stabilization provides a theoretical advantage of decreased biomechanical stress on adjacent spinal segments and decreased fatigue failure of implants. Artificial discs provide an alternative treatment and have been well-studied in the literature. Another technology that is currently used in Europe but rarely in the USA is flexible rods attached to pedicle screws instead of rigid rods or bone fusion. We performed a literature review of the current systems of flexible rod stabilization, while also considering range of motion, loading characteristics, and infection rates.