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J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2022 Jun 22. Epub 2022 Jun 22.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the diagnoses and chiropractic services performed by doctors of chiropractic operating within 3 military treatment facilities for patients with low back pain (LBP).

Methods: This was a descriptive secondary analysis of a pragmatic clinical trial comparing usual medical care (UMC) plus chiropractic care to UMC alone for U.S. Read More

Cureus 2022 May 17;14(5):e25086. Epub 2022 May 17.

Neurological Surgery, American Neurospine Institute, Plano, USA.

Sarcopenia is a muscle-wasting disease common among older adults. The condition has been associated with adverse perioperative and postoperative outcomes following spinal surgery. The combination of this muscle-wasting syndrome and spondylolisthesis and how we approached the case makes it a compelling study for surgeons attempting to treat this patient population more effectively. Read More

Georgian Med News 2021 May(314):34-41

State Institution of Science «Research and Practical Center of Preventive and Clinical Medicine» State Administrative Department, Department of Miniinvasive Surgery Kyiv, Ukraine.

The aim of the study was to explore different treatment approaches for degenerative-dystrophic damage of the spine and define the most effective treatment methods, their stages regarding the pathogenetic basis of pain syndromes. Diverse treatments for degenerative-dystrophic damage of the spine do not facilitate but even complicate general practitioner's work due to the fact that information on clinical benefits of various drugs and techniques as well as various types of surgery is too contradictory; there is no single method of consistent combined therapy for vertebrogenic pain. There is no universal therapy or surgery that would provide sustainable relief of symptoms of nonspecific back pain and/or radicular syndrome. Read More

J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil 2022 ;35(1):153-159

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, St Joseph's Health Care, London, ON, Canada.

Background: First discussed by Dr. Robert Maigne in the late 1980s, Maigne Syndrome is an often unrecognized and treatable cause of low back pain. It can be separated into two distinct entities. Read More

Med Ultrason 2020 Sep;22(3):293-298

Radiology and Ultrasound Department, Tirol Klinik, Innsbruck , Austria.

Aims: To assess the feasibility and preliminary results of ultrasound guided medial branch cryoneurolysis in the management of facet joint syndrome.

Material And Methods: Between March 2017 and August 2017, a total of 20 patients underwent medial branch blocks, 12 of which were positive. Five patients chose to participate in the study and 8 medial branch cryoneurolysis were performed. Read More

Pain Pract 2020 09 21;20(7):780-786. Epub 2020 May 21.

The Spine & Pain Institute of New York, New York, New York, U.S.A.

Background: Dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRG-S) has emerged as a treatment for complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) of the lower extremities, and recent small studies are demonstrating its potential efficacy in pain syndromes that are traditionally considered nociceptive in nature, such as axial low back pain. While improvements in neuromodulation technology have been substantial over the past decade, with DRG-S systems patients occasionally require additional interventional pain treatments for treatment of pain from other sources. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of medial branch nerves innervating the facet joints is an accepted therapy for pain arising from the facet joints. Read More

BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2019 Nov 23;20(1):558. Epub 2019 Nov 23.

Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Background: Traumatic bilateral locked facet joints at L4-5 level are a rare entity. A careful review only revealed four case reports. This case presented with an unusual mechanism of injury. Read More

Turk J Phys Med Rehabil 2018 Dec 4;64(4):362-365. Epub 2018 Nov 4.

Department of Pain Medicine, Ochsner Baptist Medical Center, New Orleans, USA.

Lumbar intraspinal synovial cysts (LISCs) are rare cause of the lumbosacral radicular syndrome. Fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous cyst rupture (PCR) is an option in the treatment. This report introduces long-term symptom relief after fluoroscopy-guided PCR of LISC. Read More

BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2019 Aug 9;20(1):369. Epub 2019 Aug 9.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Jiangsu Province Hospital on Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, 100th .Shizi Street , Nanjing, 210028, Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China.

Background: Percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) is widely used for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. Facetectomy in PTED is necessary for accessing the intraspinal region and for decompressing the exiting nerve roots in patients who suffer from hypertrophy of the facet joints. However, this may increase morbidity in failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) and has not been clearly elucidated. Read More

J Neurosurg Spine 2019 May;31(3):357-365

2Department of Neurosurgery, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University; and.

Objective: Age is commonly thought to be a risk factor in defining lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) degenerative or developmental subtypes. This article is a follow-up to a previous article ("Redefining Lumbar Spinal Stenosis as a Developmental Syndrome: An MRI-Based Multivariate Analysis of Findings in 709 Patients Throughout the 16- to 82-Year Age Spectrum") that describes the radiological differences between developmental and degenerative types of LSS. MRI-based analysis of "degeneration" variables and spinal canal morphometric characteristics of LSS segments have been thought to correlate with age at presentation. Read More

J Rheumatol 2019 12 1;46(12):1582-1588. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

From the Departments of Rheumatology and Neuroradiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California; University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas; Spondylitis Association of America, Sherman Oaks, California, USA.

Objective: Cauda equina syndrome (CES) is a rare neurologic complication of longstanding ankylosing spondylitis (AS). It is unclear what causes CES, and no proven or effective therapy has been reported to date. We have encountered 6 patients with longstanding AS diagnosed with CES. Read More

Neurocirugia (Astur : Engl Ed) 2019 May - Jun;30(3):133-143. Epub 2018 Jun 14.

Departamento de Neurociencias, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia.

Introduction: Lumbar pain affects between 60-90% of people. It is a frequent cause of disability in adults. Pain may be generated by different anatomical structures such as the facet joint. Read More

J Athl Train 2018 Feb 19;53(2):168-173. Epub 2018 Jan 19.

Cayuga Medical Center, Ithaca, NY.

Objective:   To describe the conservative management of a young athlete with extension-based (EB) low back pain (LBP).

Background:   We present the case of a 15-year-old female high school gymnast with a 4-year history of EB LBP. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a healed spondylolysis and significant atrophy with fatty infiltrate of the lumbar multifidi muscles (LMM). Read More

Adv Gerontol 2017 ;30(1):84-91

Irkutsk State Medical University, Irkutsk, 664003, Russian Federation;

The aim of the study was to analyze results of using of fasetoplasty method in the treatment of facet-syndrome at lumbar spine in patients with middle and old age groups. The study included 227 patients older than 65 years with degenerative-dystrophic diseases of the lumbosacral spine and the clinical manifestations in the form of a facet syndrome, which in the period from 2010 to 2013 years made fasetoplasty prosthesis of synovial fluid. To assess the clinical effectiveness of using a visual analogue scale of pain (VAS) and a questionnaire for patients with back problems in Oswestry. Read More

Ortop Traumatol Rehabil 2017 Apr;19(2):101-109

Division of Normal and Clinical Anatomy, Centre for Biostructure Research, Warsaw University of Medicine, Warsaw, Poland.

Posterior branches of the lumbar spinal nerves are the anatomic substrate of pain in the lower back, sacrum and the gluteal area. Such pain may be associated with various pathologies which cause pain in the posterior branches of the lumbar spinal nerves due to entrapment, mechanical irritation or inflammatory reaction and/or degeneration. The posterior branches are of significant functional importance, which is related to the function of the structures they supply, including facet joints, which are the basic biomechanical units of the spine. Read More

Pain Med 2017 Aug;18(8):1464-1466

Division of Pain Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Objective: Caudal epidural steroid injections (ESIs) are commonly used to treat lumbar radicular pain. Touhy needles are placed under live fluoroscopic guidance to ensure epidural administration of medication. This is a case report of direct needle and catheter placements into and through the filum terminale during a caudal approach to the epidural space. Read More

Arthritis Rheumatol 2017 05 31;69(5):1125-1126. Epub 2017 Mar 31.

Hospital Clínico de San Carlos, Madrid, Spain.

J Neurosurg Spine 2016 Mar 20;24(3):402-6. Epub 2015 Nov 20.

Scottish National Spine Deformity Centre, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Surgical correction for kyphoscoliosis is increasingly being performed for patients with mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS). Reported case series have predominantly included patients with Type I (Hurler) and Type IV (Morquio) MPS. To their knowledge, the authors describe the first case report of surgical management of thoracolumbar kyphoscoliosis in Hunter syndrome (MPS Type II) and the rare occurrence of lumbar spondylolisthesis following surgical stabilization. Read More

Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2015 Sep 29;136:29-32. Epub 2015 May 29.

Department of General Neurosurgery, University of Freiburg Medical School, Breisacher Str. 64, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany.

Object: Synovial cysts are generally located in the lumbar spine adjacent to facet joints. Most studies recommend surgical resection. Adhesions of the lumbar synovial cyst to the dura are common and can result in dural tears with subsequent CSF fistula or nerve injury. Read More

Pain Pract 2016 Jan 1;16(1):90-110. Epub 2015 Jun 1.

Department of Anesthesiology, Centre of Pain Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Objectives: When conservative therapies such as pain medication or exercise therapy fail, invasive treatment may be indicated for patients with lumbosacral spinal pain. The Dutch Society of Anesthesiologists, in collaboration with the Dutch Orthopedic Association and the Dutch Neurosurgical Society, has taken the initiative to develop the guideline "Spinal low back pain," which describes the evidence regarding diagnostics and invasive treatment of the most common spinal low back pain syndromes, that is, facet joint pain, sacroiliac joint pain, coccygodynia, pain originating from the intervertebral disk, and failed back surgery syndrome.

Methods: The aim of the guideline is to determine which invasive treatment intervention is preferred for each included pain syndrome when conservative treatment has failed. Read More

Zhongguo Gu Shang 2014 Oct;27(10):833-7

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of Panlongqi tablet (Chinese characters) combined with lumbar facet joint release for lumbar spinal stenosis of type Fengshi Bizu (Chinese characters).

Methods: Since February 2012 to February 2013, 120 patients with lumbar spinal stenosis of Fengshi Bizu (Chinese characters) syndrome were retrospectively studied. According to different treatment methods, 120 patients with lumbar spinal stenosis were divided into Panlongqi tablet (Chinese characters)group and control groups, respectively. Read More

Eur Spine J 2014 Oct 12;23 Suppl 6:628-33. Epub 2014 Sep 12.

Division of Spinal Surgery, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Catholic University Hospital, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168, Rome, Italy,

Introduction: Aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of facet joints injections in lumbar facet syndrome correlating clinical results to the sagittal contour of the spine.

Methods: Facet joints degree degeneration was evaluated using MRI according to Fujiwara classification. Sagittal contour of the spine was evaluated according to Roussouly classification. Read More

Pain Pract 2014 Jul 2;14(6):e154-8. Epub 2014 May 2.

Department of Anesthesiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

Radiofrequency ablation of medial branch nerves is considered a safe and effective treatment for chronic facet joint pain in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbosacral spine. Cooled radiofrequency ablation (C-RFA) is gaining popularity over conventional thermal radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in pain management. However, complications of C-RFA have not been reported in the literature. Read More

Korean J Pain 2013 Oct 2;26(4):368-73. Epub 2013 Oct 2.

Department of Anesthesia, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.

Background: Bertolotti's syndrome (BS), a form of lumbago in lumbosacral transitional vertebrae, is an important cause of low back pain in young patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the etiology of low back pain and the efficacy of treatment offered to patients with BS.

Methods: All patients of BS Castellvi type1a during a period of 6 months were enrolled in the study. Read More

Acta Orthop Suppl 2013 Feb;84(349):1-35

Department of Orthopaedics, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is one of the main causes of disability in the western world with a huge economic burden to society. As yet, no specific underlying anatomic cause has been identified for CLBP. Imaging often reveals degenerative findings of the disc or facet joints of one or more lumbar motion segments. Read More

Lijec Vjesn 2011 Sep-Oct;133(9-10):330-6

Disorders of lumbosacral (LS) facet joints are manifested by low back pain with or without referred leg pain and decreased mobility of the LS spine (LS facet syndrome). The most frequent causes of LS facet syndrome are functional disorders (functional blockade or dysfunction of facet joint=reversible restriction of facet joint movements caused by meniscoid entrapment) and degenerative changes of facet joints while the others are less frequent (spondyloarthropathies, infection, tuberculosis, synovial cyst, injury). Although it has been proven that the facet joints are one of the most frequent sources of chronic low back pain (15-45%), the fact is that the facet syndrome has been frequently overlooked in patients with chronic low back pain. Read More

Zh Vopr Neirokhir Im N N Burdenko 2011 ;75(2):51-5; discussion 55

Back pain is very widespread and represents a socially significant problem of modern health care. During lifetime 90% of population experiences 1 or more episodes of back pain. This study focuses on assessment of effectiveness of radiofrequency denervation of intervertebral joints in management of patients with low back pain caused by facet pain syndrome. Read More

Asian Spine J 2010 Dec 24;4(2):128-31. Epub 2010 Nov 24.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.

This paper reports a rare case of a lumbosacral dislocation associated with symphysis pubis separation and cauda equina syndrome. A 39-year-old male who diagnosed traumatic lumbosacral dislocation underwent an open reduction without fusion. After an open reduction and internal fixation of a symphysis pubis separation, a missed lumbosacral dislocation was diagnosed and an open reduction was performed without fusion. Read More