PURPOSE To compare lumbar disc degeneration at 9-year follow-up in patients with chronic low back pain who had instrumented lumbar fusion or no fusion. MATERIAL AND METHODOLOGY The main outcomes were disc height and sagittal alignment measured by Distortion Compensated Roentgen Analysis (DCRA). Secondary outcome included the Oswestry Disability Index and VAS back pain. RESULTS Forty-eight p...

STUDY DESIGN A population-based radiographic study with longitudinal follow-up. OBJECTIVE To develop a quantitative index for lumbar disc space narrowing (DSN) evaluation in elderly subjects; to determine how DSN in the elderly is influenced by osteoporosis and gender. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA There is paucity of research on quantitative classification of lumbar DSN based on disc areal mo...

What was once a simple lumbar disc herniation treated with laminotomy and partial discectomy, with typically excellent results (25, 46), has evolved into a surprisingly complex clinical problem with a dazzling array of therapeutic alternatives. Much of this, of course, is based on clinical studies emphasizing the heterogeneity of disc disorders. Advances in biomechanics research focusing on the...

INTRODUCTION: The intervertebral disc (IVD) is fibro-cartilaginous structures, composed of two major regions; the outer ring, called annulus fibrosus and the inner part, called the nucleus pulposus. These different tissues including cellular components maintain the metabolism of IVD and play an important role in mechanical function of spine. IVD is well known to degenerate by age, however the c...

BACKGROUND We investigated relationships between generalized joint laxity and primary lumbar disc herniation occurrence and compared clinical outcomes after conservative treatment in lumbar disc herniation patients with and without generalized joint laxity. METHODS The study group included 128 men, and the control group included 276 men matched for age and body mass index with the study group...

UNLABELLED We set out to assess the efficacy of radiofrequency-induced intradiscal nucleoplasty in reducing pain in symptomatic patients with MRI-defined lumbar disc herniation and their satisfaction with the procedure. We compared the patients' pain intensity and severity of disability scores before and after undergoing the procedure in a retrospective questionnaire. These patients reported st...

The understanding of lumbar spine pathologies made substantial progress at the turn of the twentieth century. The authors review the original publication of Otto Veraguth in 1929 reporting on the successful resection of a herniated lumbar disc, published exclusively in the German language. His early report is put into the historical context, and its impact on the understanding of pathologies of...

AIM The restoration of disc space height of fused segment is essential in anterior lumbar interbody fusion, while the disc space height in many cases decreased postoperatively, which may adversely aggravate the adjacent segmental degeneration. However, no literature available focused on the issue. MATERIAL AND METHODS A normal healthy finite element model of L3-5 and four anterior lumbar inte...

STUDY DESIGN A case report is presented. OBJECTIVE To highlight the potential for spontaneous resolution of large extruded intervertebral lumbar disc herniations in a patient with three independent herniations. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA The most effective methods of treatment for lumbar intervertebral disc herniations remain in question. This is partly because the potential for intrinsic s...