Spondylolisthesis means dealing with back pain. You may have pain, weakness, or numbness in 1 or both legs. It can sideline you from your favorite activities. Or it might interfere with your daily routine.
But you don’t have to live with the pain. At UVA Health, we treat all types of spondylolisthesis, including degenerative and isthmic. Here, you’ll find the full spectrum of treatments from our spine care experts.
Spondylolisthesis Treatment at UVA Health
Our compassionate team will build a personalized care plan just for you.
Nonsurgical Spondylolisthesis Treatment
Most people with spondylolisthesis don’t need surgery. We offer many treatments to help your pain. These include physical therapy, injections, and other procedures.
Read more about spine care without surgery.
Surgery for Spondylolisthesis
We may recommend surgery if other treatments don’t work well enough. In some cases, we'll perform 1 or more of these surgeries at the same time.
- Laminectomy relieves pressure if you have a pinched nerve. We remove a part of your spine bone (vertebra) called the lamina. That opens up the space your nerves travel through so they’re no longer pinched.
- Foraminotomy is another surgery we use to widen the space your nerves pass through. It also relieves pressure from pinched nerves.
- Spinal fusion is used to stabilize your spine. We use a bone graft (bone from a donor or your own body) to join (fuse) 2 or more vertebrae. This mimics how part of a broken bone heals.
Our spine surgeons have fellowship training in minimally invasive surgery. These help you recover faster with less pain. They include muscle-sparing surgeries that avoid cutting through muscle. We also use smaller cuts (incisions).
Sometimes, we use spinal implant during spinal fusion for more stability. We were among the first in the U.S. to offer the aprevo device. This custom implant eases recovery and reduces the risk of complications.