• Justin L Reyes, Elisabeth Geraghty, Josephine R Coury, Varun Arvind, Andrew Luzzi, Michael Mastroianni, Cole Morrissette, Kyle Obana, David Trofa, Christopher S Ahmad, Zeeshan M Sardar, Ronald A Lehman, and Joseph M Lombardi.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NewYork-Presbyterian Och Spine Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY USA.
• Spine. 2024 Sep 27.

Study DesignSystematic Review.ObjectiveThe primary purpose of this article was to survey the present literature and report on return to play outcomes in elite athletes after undergoing motion preservation spinal surgery.Summary Of Background DataFor elite performance, athletes require adequate mobility and throughout the trunk, torso, and spine to achieve maximal force production. Therefore, elite athletes that have failed conservative treatment may seek to undergo motion preserving surgical options such as total disc arthroplasty and lumbar microdiscectomy. Individual studies have reported on return to play (RTP) outcomes following individual motion preservation surgical procedures, no systematic reviews have formally to reported on RTP outcomes, post-operative performance, and reoperation rates on these procedures in elite athletes.MethodsA systematic review was conducted from inception until February 2024 according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. One reviewer queried PubMed for relevant studies that reported on RTP outcomes in elite athletes following motion preservation spinal surgery (MPSS) based on title and abstract (n=1,404). After the original search query, an additional reviewer screened full length articles. A total of 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. Special consideration was given to RTP rates, post-operative performance, and reoperation rates.ResultsA total of 612 elite athletes from the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Hockey League, and other professional sporting organizations underwent cervical and lumbar MPSS to treat various spinal pathologies. Various motion sparing techniques were used to treat various pathologies. After undergoing MPSS, RTP rates ranged from 75-100% for lumbar cases and 83.3-100% for cervical cases. Most athletes successfully returned to sport between. Post-operative performance varied with some athletes performing at the same level prior to surgery and some performing at a decreased level.ConclusionsMotion preservation spinal surgery is a feasible option when properly indicated. Future studies are needed to compare return to sport rates, post-operative performance, and re-operation rates between motion preservation spinal surgery to spinal arthrodesis.Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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