Expandable Cervical Cages in Spinal Reconstruction: Balancing Recovery and Long-Term Health in Athletes

Orthopaedic surgeons are rapidly utilizing expandable cervical cages during spinal reconstruction procedures, but among elite athletes there is still the important question of recovery, mobility and sustainability.While expandable cages offer benefits, athletes often place very unique demands on their cervical spine and as such a more nuanced evaluation of whether the increased intraoperative adjustability provided by expandable cages translates into meaningful performance or health benefits is required.A thorough review of existing literature highlights significant limitations in study design, along with a paucity of high-quality, athlete-specific data.The long-term consequences of using expandable cages in a population that relies heavily on cervical function for sport-specific movements are important to consider and we argue that static cages or other conservative management techniques should not be left out of the equation when installing expandable cages for spinal operations.In all, a holistic approach blending static and expandable cages, and conservative or otherwise non-invasive techniques, should remain the standard of care for most athletes requiring cervical fusion.