Evaluation of Lumbar Disc Degenerative Disease Using Mri in Patients with Chronic Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study Correlating Imaging Findings with Clinical History
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31580/pjmls.v7i4.3183Keywords:
Chronic back pain, Disc degeneration, Radiating pain, Weight liftingAbstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the lumbar disc degenerative disease on MRI in patients with chronic back pain correlated with their key risk factors and clinicopathological history. The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Ghurki Trust & Teaching Hospital Lahore, from June 2024 to November 2024. A sample size of 245 was chosen for this study. Subject patients with a history of chronic back pain were scanned under a 0.4-Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine. Multiple pathological findings were observed on MRI. Data were analyzed and frequency statistics were calculated using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20. A total of 245 patients with multiple presenting complaints, were studied for the evaluation of the lumbar spine on MRI. Of 245 patients, 129 (52.7%) were males and 116 (47.3%) were females. Multiple risk factors were evaluated including radiating or non-radiating pain, history of trauma and weight lifting. Regarding pathological involvement of lumbar discs, it was seen that LV1-LV2 disc level was affected in 21 (8.6%) patients, LV2-LV3 disc in 39 (15.9%) patients, LV3-LV4 disc in 88 (36.0%) patients, LV4-LV5 disc in 182 (74.5%) patients and LV5-S1 disc in 139 (56.8%).
Regarding MRI findings disc degeneration was seen in 204 (83.3%) patients. As per the results of this study, the most common cause of chronic back pain was seen to be disc degeneration (83.3%), and the most affected disc level was LV4-LV5. It was also noted as an additional discovery that men (52.7%) suffer more from back pain due to their more strenuous lifestyle than women (47.3%). This study highlights the high prevalence of lumbar disc degeneration, particularly at the LV4-LV5 level, as the leading cause of chronic back pain, providing essential insights for targeted diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
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