Pittsburgh Steelers

5 things to know about spine condition affecting Steelers' Ryan Shazier

Channel 11 is learning more about the back injury Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier suffered during Monday night's game in Cincinnati, Ohio against the Bengals.

  1. According to UPMC, spondyloisthesis is a condition of the spine in which a vertebra slips out of alignment, moving forward on the vertebra below.
  2. The condition is usually caused by a degenerative disease, but can also happen from trauma or stress fractures, which may occur during sports that put a lot of pressure or stress on the back or overstretch the spine, according to UPMC.
  3. Football players are at an increased risk, as are gymnasts and weight-lifters.
  4. Treatment at UPMC typically begins with conservative treatments, such as medications and physical therapy, with relief from pain in a month or two.
  5. Surgery is the alternative if the vertebra continues to slip or if pain continues.

UPMC neurosurgeons, along with the Pittsburgh Steelers team physicians, have released no further information other than Shazier underwent spinal surgery Wednesday night.

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