Over the past 35 years a tremendous effort has been made to develop an artificial disc to replace the degenerated disc the goal is the restoration of the natural biomechanics of the segment after disc excision thus relieving pain and preventing further degeneration at adjacent segments however the artificial disc faces a complex biomechanical environment which makes replication of the biomechanics difficult and long term survival challenging to designs and materials the purpose of this . Wear and tear on artificial disc can require revision surgery in 10 to 20 years which can be complex disc implants only address rotational forces not the up and down shock absorbing of the natural disc overweight people can wear out a lumbar disc prematurely newer artificial discs are in development that may be better. The activl artificial disc offers the smallest height disc ideal for many with small statures out of any other disc replacement system currently available on the global market its just 85 mm tall also available in 10 12 and 14 mm for those of us needing that it also comes in four endplate footprints which your surgeon will size you up for at the beginning of your procedure s m l xl 26 mm x 31 mm 38 mm x 345 mm 30 mm x 39 mm 33 mm x 40 mm and lordotic . Over the past 35 years a tremendous effort has been made to develop an artificial disc to replace the degenerated disc the goal is the restoration of the natural biomechanics of the segment after disc excision thus relieving pain and preventing further degeneration at adjacent segments however the artificial disc faces a complex biomechanical environment which makes replication of the biomechanics difficult and long term survival challenging to designs and materials the purpose of this