Back pain is a very common complaint among people of all age groups. It is, however, more commonplace among people in their thirties and onwards. Back pain can be disabling and places a huge burden on the world economy because of work-days that are lost and health care costs.

Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure to mainly, but not exclusively, treat osteoporotic and metastatic vertebral compression fractures of the spine and sacrum. These procedures are performed to stabilise the bodies of the collapsed (fractured) vertebrae and restore the height of the vertebrae.

A lumbar decompression is performed for trapped nerves. The aim of the operation is to remove the compressive elements that are compressing the nerves of the spine. This may be caused by bone, ligaments or even parts of discs. The patient usually presents with progressive pain on standing and activity which improves with rest. They will also have progressive weakness and a feeling of their legs giving way under them. This is because the compression of the nerves leads to dysfunction of these nerves.

Sometimes it is necessary to perform a lumbar spinal fusion. This is done to create a bony union between two or more lumbar vertebrae, in order to stabilise the spine. It is usually done for instability which may arise from an injury or from wear and tear changes. It may also be secondary to extensive decompressive surgery or may be made necessary by a gradual dislocation from an inborn abnormality. Other causes are infection, tumour or a previous fusion that has failed to unite.