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Ok, they can do hip, knee, shoulder replacements. If someone has severe back pain because the vertebrae can't hold up any longer, why can't they do vertebrae replacements?

That's a good question. Replacing damaged bone with healthy bone isn't a new idea and in one way, it's done already.

If someone has surgery for damaged vertebrae that can't support the back any longer or they have moved out of place and are causing pain by pressing on the nerves, the surgeon has a few options. He or she can fuse the vertebrae together so they don't move or do a graft. A graft can be done by grafting healthy bone to the vertebrae or by placing hardware (screws, wires, and so on). So, in a round about way, that's already happening.

Reference: 

Tom Bendix, MD, Per Kjaer, PT, PhD, and Lars Korsholm, PhD. Burned-Out Discs Stop Hurting; Fact or Fiction? In Spine. December 1, 2008. Vol. 33. No. 25. Pp. E962-E967.

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