MRI comparison of lumbar facet joint degeneration and intervertebral disc degeneration in patients with low back pain
10.3969/j.issn.2095-4344.2015.46.005
- VernacularTitle:腰痛患者腰椎小关节退变与椎间盘退变的MRI比较
- Author:
Changlin FU
;
Bin ZHANG
;
Yuan LIU
;
Min DAI
;
Xin ZHOU
;
Xiaoxing FU
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- From:
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research
2015;(46):7401-7405
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND:During spinal degeneration process, the intervertebral disc and facet joints are interrelated and interacted to impact the normal function and stability of the spine, thereby resulting in low back pain. Moreover, there is always a controversy on the degeneration order of the intervertebral disc and facet joint. OBJECTIVE:To explore the relationship between lumbar facet joint degeneration and intervertebral disc degeneration in patients with low back pain. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was made on the clinical data of 186 patients with low back pain. The facet joint degeneration and intervertebral disc degeneration at L2-S1 motion segments of each patient were evaluated. Enroled patients were divided into three age groups: < 40 years old, 40-60 years old and≥ 60 years old. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The incidence of lumbar facet joint and intervertebral disc degeneration was increased with age, and degeneration of the lumbar facet joint and intervertebral disc were the most obvious at L4-5 and L5-S1 segments. The incidence of intervertebral disc degeneration was more than that of facet joint degeneration at each segment in al age groups, except groups of < 40 years old and 40-60 years old at L2-3 segments, but there was no significant difference (P > 0.05). There was a weak correlation between facet joint degeneration and intervertebral disc degeneration (χ2=100.9,P < 0.001, gamma=0.22). These findings show that the incidence of intervertebral disc degeneration and facet joint degeneration is increased with age, and there is a weak correlation between them. However, the lumbar degenerative order is stil unclear and further research is needed.
