Editorial Policy

Medtronic's mission is to contribute to human welfare by application of biomedical engineering in the research, design, manufacture, and sale of instruments or appliances that alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life.

This Web site is for patients. We are committed to providing patients with relevant and reliable information about the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of spinal conditions. Nevertheless, the information provided on this Web site is for educational purposes only. After all, what you read here cannot replace the relationship that you have with your healthcare professional. Always consult your healthcare professional before acting on any health-related information that you read on this or any other Web site.

Unless specified otherwise, our own staff writes and/or edits all the content on this Web site.

Prior to publishing any content on the site, it is reviewed by a medically qualified professional (e.g., orthopedic surgeon, neurosurgeon, physicians assistant, nurse). It is then reviewed by a technical writer for consistency, coherence, structure, and format.

Medically qualified professionals contribute a wealth of content to this site. A byline accompanies this content, giving the author's name and medical credentials.

We do not license health content from third parties for publication on our site. In addition, we do not publish sponsored content.

This Web site is wholly owned and operated by Medtronic. As such, we do not license health content from third parties for publication on our site. In addition, we do not publish sponsored content.

Where appropriate, content on this site is supported by references to source data.

The date when an article of content was posted and last modified is displayed at the bottom of the article.

If you have questions or comments about our editorial policy, Contact Us, or write us a letter, sent First Class Postage Prepaid U.S. Mail or overnight courier, addressed as follows: