Lumbar Spine Fusion- the balance between increased lordosis and endplate failure

During lumbar spine fusion, it is currently thought that aiming for maximum lordosis during compression is the ideal for the best patient outcomes. However, our previous testing suggests that this may cause excessive pressures on the vertebral endplates, which may indicate an increased likelihood of subsidence of the cage into the vertebral body. This study will conduct an in-depth analysis of a number of factors associated with lumbar fusion (compression load, cage height, cage angle, ALL resection and facet resection) with the aim of finding correlations between these factors and lordosis/endplate pressures.