Chronic low-back pain affects the physical function and quality of life of many individuals and constitutes one of the largest medical and socioeconomic problems today. Fusion of the spine has become a common approach to treatment of back disorders and in particular for degenerative diseases associated with back pain. Moreover, complex fusion procedures with potentially more complications have been introduced in hope of attaining a better outcome. Also a wide variety of spinal motion preservation techniques- most notably the disc prosthesis are being employed because of their theoretical...

Against a backcloth of tumultuous events in Europe, the EU faces once again the fateful question of moving towards federal union or let flexible integration guide the Union. The sixth volume in Interdisciplinary European Studies explores the coexistence of deepening political integration and flexible patterns of integration in the EU. The book brings together scholars from economics, law, and political science to provide insights into issues with a bearing on the future of the EU: the crisis of rule of law and political values, the move towards a European defence union, the power of the new...