Oral Presentation 50th International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine Annual Meeting 2024

AGE- AND GENDER-RELATED CHANGES IN DIAMETER OF THE LUMBAR SPINAL CANAL: A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF 2220 PATIENTS WITH LOW BACK PAIN (#MP-7d)

Murat Eksi 1 , Fatma Topaloğlu 2 , Nursena Tanrıverdi 2 , Arda Topçu 2 , Uğur Öztaş 2 , Sidar Yeşilyurt 2 , Umut Duymaz 2 , Fatima Abasova 1 , Kumsal Kontaytekin 2 , Jülide Hazneci 2 , Ezel Yaltırık-Bilgin 3 , Gürkan Berikol 4 , Mahmoud Osama 5 , Emel Ece Özcan-Ekşi 6
  1. Health Sciences University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
  2. Neurosurgery, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
  3. Radiology, Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
  4. Neurosurgery, Taksim Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
  5. Department of Neurosurgery, Nasser Institute for Research and Treatment, Cairo, Egypt
  6. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Acıbadem Medical Center, Bağdat Caddesi, Istanbul, Turkey

Purpose: We aimed to analyze the changes in anterior-posterior (AP) diameter of the lumbar spinal canal decade by decade. We also aimed to depict the onset and progression of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).

Methods: Patients with chronic low back pain and had lumbar spine magnetic resonance imagings (MRI) were reviewed. The AP diameters of the lumbar spinal canals were measured on midsagittal T2-weighted lumbar spine MRIs.

Results: We had 2220 patients. The AP diameter of the lumbar spinal canal increased from the 2nd decade to the 3rddecade of life at all lumbar disc levels except at L5-S1 level in women. The narrowest spinal canal was detected around the 7th decade. The AP diameter of the lumbar spinal canal increased in the 8th decade at L2-L3, L3-4 and L4-L5 levels in all subjects and women, and at L1-L2, L2-L3, and L3-L4 levels in men. Increment in canal diameter was observed in the 6th decade of life at L5-S1 level in women, in the 6th and 5th decades of life at L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels in men, respectively.

Conclusion: Degenerative LSS began by the 4th decade and the spinal canal became the narrowest around 7th decade of life in Caucasians. Preventive measures would be the best to apply before the 4th decade to delay onset and progression of LSS. To validate current findings about onset and progression of LSS, multi-center prospective longitudinal studies are required to be done.