Return to Activity for On- and Off-Label Cervical Arthroplasty Patients: A Multicentered Expert Panel Recommendation

Artificial disc replacement (ADR) has become an evidence-based alternative to traditional fusion surgery. Current guidelines for safe return-to-activity (RTA) levels following surgery have yet to be determined. This Modified Delphi study aimed to establish expert-sourced consensus for safe and optimized RTA recommendations following cervical disc arthroplasty.

Ten expert spine surgeons with an average of 15 years of surgical experience participated in a 3-round Modified Delphi Method. The first round presented experts with 11 clinical cases and 19 multiple-choice questions regarding recommendations for patient RTA following surgery for 1-, 2-, or 3-level arthroplasty. First-round responses were analyzed and presented in second-round surveys to the experts, who repeated 19 multiple-choice questions. The third round presented consensus recommendation statements derived from the second round for the final assessment of the expert agreement.

Experts agreed on 19 of 22 (86.4%) postarthroplasty RTA recommendations. Eight recommendations achieved unanimous agreement; the most robust consensus (95%-100% agreement) included recommendations that patients may return to basic activities such as walking, social activities, sedentary work, air travel, and sexual activity within 2 weeks of arthroplasty surgery and that arthroplasty patients will have a shorter recovery, resuming normal activities sooner than fusion patients. Experts agreed that patients may return to light and heavy physical activity (strong consensus) earlier for 2- and 3-level ADR compared to hybrid constructs. Experts also agreed that ADR patients can resume light physical activity at 4 to 6 weeks and engage in intense conditioning and sport-specific training at 6 weeks. However, a weaker consensus was achieved for returning to physically demanding work at 4 to 6 weeks and high-intensity physical activity/sports at 6 weeks, indicating that individual patient factors and the specific nature of the activity should be considered.

This study provides the first consensus-based recommendations for RTA following cervical disc arthroplasty.