Do pars defects get worse over time? left l5 pars defect. pain since march 2014. otc meds taken daily. surgery options? conservative options failed.

No: The defects themselves don't get any " worse" they represent stress fractures that occurred in the pars interarticularis that never healed. They sometimes can lead to a spondylolisthesis in which the vertebrae can start to shift over each other. Thankfully, a lot of people do respond to nonoperative care. Surgical option are either direct repair of the defect or a fusion.