title: Return to contact sports after spinal surgery.
abstract: Decisions regarding the return of injured athletes to contact sports after spinal surgery can be complicated. The authors offer a brief overview of the return-to-play guidelines used successfully at their institution for the past two decades when caring for professional and amateur athletes after spinal surgery.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurological Surgery, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona 85013, USA.
authors.forename: Mark G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Burnett
authors.forename: Volker K H
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Sonntag
mesh_terms: D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries; D013124:Spinal Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries