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J Radiol Case Rep 2022 Feb 1;16(2):21-38. Epub 2022 Feb 1.

Institute for Spinal Health & Performance, Cumming, GA, USA.

Objective: Discuss non-surgical spinal rehabilitation for a 27-year-old male with thoracic and lumbosacral spondylolistheses. A selective literature review and discussion are provided.

Clinical Features: A 27-year-old male presented with severe, 8/10 mid and low back pain. Read More

J Bodyw Mov Ther 2022 04 7;30:125-131. Epub 2022 Feb 7.

University Institute of Public Health, University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan.

Background: Low Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound (LIPUS) is beneficial in accelerating fracture recovery, enhancing their capacity to execute tasks of daily life and, as a result, their autonomy.

Objective: To compare the outcomes of routine physical therapy and routine physical therapy along with LIPUS in patients with early-stage lumbar spondylolysis.

Methods: Thirty-four (29 males and 5 females) patients exhibiting symptomatic low back pain for at least four weeks were recruited and randomly divided into control group (CG) and intervention group (IG) group. Read More

Vopr Kurortol Fizioter Lech Fiz Kult 2022 ;99(2):45-52

National Medical Research Center for Rehabilitation and Balneology, Moscow, Russia.

Underwater traction of the spine is a physiotherapeutic method that combines the effects of mechanical traction and fresh water of indifferent temperature and seems promising for the treatment of pain in the lower back, which is due to the physiological basis of the mechanism of action on the spinal motion segment by eliminating muscle spasm and restoring the biomechanics of the spine.

Objective: To study the effectiveness of underwater horizontal traction in combination with mechanotherapy in patients with non-stenosing unstable degenerative spondylolisthesis of the lumbosacral spine of the 1st degree, accompanied by pain.

Material And Methods: The clinical study included 14 patients (mean age 50. Read More

BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2022 Apr 25;23(1):385. Epub 2022 Apr 25.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75390-8883, USA.

Purpose: Acetabular dysplasia (AD) is a debilitating condition which results in impaired hip function, leading to hip-spine syndrome with anomalies identifiable on plain radiographs. However, no study to date has investigated the association between radiographic spine anomalies and functional outcomes in AD. We hypothesize that AD patients with radiographic evidence of lumbar spine anomalies are associated with decreased function in comparison to those without such radiographic findings. Read More

J Orthop Surg Res 2022 Apr 10;17(1):224. Epub 2022 Apr 10.

Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia.

Background: Lumbar interbody fusion (LIF) is an established surgical intervention for patients with leg and back pain secondary to disc herniation or degeneration. Interbody fusion involves removal of the herniated or degenerated disc and insertion of interbody devices with bone grafts into the remaining cavity. Extensive research has been conducted on operative complications such as a failure of fusion or non-union of the vertebral bodies. Read More

J Orthop Surg Res 2022 Apr 4;17(1):203. Epub 2022 Apr 4.

Spine Surgery Department 1, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China.

Background: The fusion of the lumbar spine may lead to the degeneration of the adjacent segments. In this study, the effects of OLIF and TLIF on adjacent segments after treatment of L4 degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DLS) were compared and analysed.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of the medical records of consecutive patients treated with OLIF or TLIF for L4DLS. Read More

World Neurosurg 2022 Jul 30;163:e263-e274. Epub 2022 Mar 30.

Department of Neurological Surgery, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA. Electronic address:

Objective: Lumbar spondylolysis occurs in 5%-8% of adults. This study aimed to report clinical and radiographic outcomes of direct pars repair in adults with lumbar spondylolysis.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of all patients treated for lumbar spondylolysis via open fracture reduction and direct pars repair with cannulated screws using a lag technique. Read More

J Man Manip Ther 2022 Mar 27:1-8. Epub 2022 Mar 27.

School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Objectives: To develop a clinical algorithm for classifying acute lumbar spondylolysis from nonspecific low back pain in elementary school-aged patients using the classification and regression tree analysis.

Methods: Medical records of 73 school-aged patients diagnosed with acute lumbar spondylolysis or nonspecific low back pain were retrospectively reviewed. Fifty-eight patients were examined for establishing an algorithm and 15 were employed for testing its performance. Read More

J Pak Med Assoc 2022 Mar;72(3):522-525

University Institute of Public Health, The University of Lahore, Pakistan.

Objective: To systematically review the role of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound on lumbar spondylolysis.

Methods: Literature search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, PEDro and Scopus databases to identify relevant studies published between 2010 and 2020 by using medical subject headings and applying Booleans, such as low-intensity pulsed ultrasound OR interventional ultrasound AND lumbar spine OR lumbar region AND spondylolysis OR stress fracture. Unpublished studies were hand-searched in the journals, abstracts of conferences were reviewed, and citation index was used for searching experts in the field and then contacting them for information. Read More

Eur Spine J 2022 Jun 8;31(6):1525-1545. Epub 2022 Mar 8.

Reval Rehabilitation Research Center, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation strategies on disability, pain, pain-related fear, and return-to-work in patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery for degenerative conditions or adult isthmic spondylolisthesis.

Methods: Six electronic databases were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effect of rehabilitation (unimodal or multimodal). The estimated effect size was calculated for interventions with homogeneous content using a random-effects model. Read More

Sci Rep 2022 03 7;12(1):4019. Epub 2022 Mar 7.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.

Occasionally lumbar spondylolysis in adolescents will recur after conservative treatment. The goal of this study was to retrospectively review the conditions in which recurrence transpired in a subset of adolescent patients diagnosed with acute lumbar spondylolysis. A retrospective survey was conducted in 141 patients who had been treated for spondylolysis and had obtained bone union. Read More

Clin Spine Surg 2022 06 22;35(5):213-221. Epub 2021 Oct 22.

Houston Methodist Orthopedic and Sports Medicine, Houston.

Study Design: Systematic review.

Objective: This systematic review compares radiographic and clinical outcomes between instrumented and noninstrumented posterolateral lumbar spine fusions for the treatment of degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis.

Summary Of Background Data: The optimal method of fusion for instability from degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis remains to be an area of debate amongst spine surgeons. Read More

Eur Spine J 2022 04 2;31(4):858-864. Epub 2022 Mar 2.

Department of Diagnostic Orthopedics, Tokushima University Graduate School, Institute of Health Sciences, 3-18-15 Kuramoto, Tokushima, 770-8501, Japan.

Purpose: To investigate the association of spinal anomalies with lumbar spondylolysis and spina bifida occulta (SBO).

Methods: A total of 1190 patients with thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic computed tomography scans available were categorized according to the number of presacral (thoracic and lumbar) mobile vertebrae and the presence or absence of lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV). The prevalence of spondylolysis and SBO and the association of spinal anomalies with these disorders were evaluated. Read More

Medicina (Kaunas) 2022 Jan 23;58(2). Epub 2022 Jan 23.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, International University of Health and Welfare (IUHW), Chiba 286-8520, Japan.

There are few reports describing the radiographic correction of vertebral slippage in lateral interbody fusion and percutaneous pedicle screw fixation for lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis. [Objectives] We evaluated the intraoperative surgical correction obtained by lateral interbody fusion and percutaneous pedicle screw procedures. Fifty patients were included in this study. Read More

Spine J 2022 Jul 11;22(7):1112-1118. Epub 2022 Feb 11.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Keio Spine Research Group (KSRG), Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address:

Background Context: The risk factors for radiographical adjacent segment disease (ASD) in patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis have been previously reported. However, there are only few reports on patients with spondylolytic spondylolisthesis who underwent single-level posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF).

Purpose: The study aimed to investigate the risk factors for radiographical ASD in patients with L5-S1 spondylolytic spondylolisthesis who underwent single-level PLIF. Read More

Eur Spine J 2022 04 8;31(4):851-857. Epub 2022 Feb 8.

Division of Spine Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China.

Objective: To determine the superiority of decubitus and supine radiographs for the reduction of olisthesis instead of the extension radiograph, and the inconsistency of the CT scout view, 3D-reconstruction and MR image in evaluating segmental instability.

Methods: A cohort of 154 low-grade lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis patients with the average age of (60.9 ± 8. Read More

BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2022 Jan 17;23(1):59. Epub 2022 Jan 17.

Department of Orthopedics, Spine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC: Anhui Provincial Hospital, No. 17, Lujiang Road, Hefei, 230001, China.

Background: To evaluate lumbar mobility in various positions using upright left and right bending radiographs in patients with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DLS), as well as to assess the impact of lateral instability on patient-reported outcomes.

Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed a consecutive series of patients with DLS between January 2019 and October 2020. The enrolled patients were divided into two groups: the lateral instability group (group L) and non-lateral instability group (group NL). Read More

Zhongguo Xiu Fu Chong Jian Wai Ke Za Zhi 2022 Jan;36(1):71-78

Department of Orthopedics, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou Henan, 450052, P. R. China.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of percutaneous endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (PE-TLIF) and Wiltse-approach TLIF (W-TLIF) in the treatment of lumbar spondylolisthesis.

Methods: The clinical data of 47 patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis who met the selection criteria between July 2018 and June 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, in which 21 patients were treated with PE-TLIF (PE-TLIF group) and 26 patients were treated with W-TLIF (W-TLIF group). There was no significant difference between the two groups in age, gender, disease duration, level of spondylolisthesis vertebrae, spondylolisthesis degree, spondylolisthesis type, and preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score of low back pain and leg pain, lumbar Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, and the disc height (DH), segmental lordosis (SL), and Taillard index (TI) of the operated vertebrae ( >0. Read More

PM R 2022 05 23;14(5):604-610. Epub 2022 Feb 23.

Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Clinical Effectiveness Research Center, Department of Orthopedics, Boston Children's Hospital, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.

Neurosurgery 2022 02;90(2):215-220

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Background: Previous studies have examined the impact of preoperative duration of symptoms (DOS) on lumbar spinal surgery outcomes although this has not been explored for anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF).

Objective: To assess the impact of preoperative DOS on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) of ALIF with posterior instrumentation.

Methods: A database was retrospectively reviewed for ALIFs with posterior instrumentation. Read More

Neurosurg Rev 2022 Apr 29;45(2):1741-1746. Epub 2021 Dec 29.

Swedish Neuroscience Institute, Seattle, USA.

L5 nerve palsy is a well-known complication following reduction of high-grade spondylolisthesis. While several mechanisms for its occurrence have been proposed, the hypothesis of L5 nerve root strain or displacement secondary to mechanical reduction remains poorly studied. The aim of this cadaveric study is to determine changes in morphologic parameters of the L5 nerve root during simulated intraoperative reduction of high-grade spondylolisthesis. Read More

J Clin Neurosci 2022 Feb 22;96:8-11. Epub 2021 Dec 22.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Wakayama Medical University, 811-1 Kimiidera, Wakayama 641-8510, Japan.

Detection of lumbar foraminal stenosis (LFS) is difficult using common diagnostic methods, resulting in poor outcomes after lumbar spine surgery. This study aimed to develop a new support tool to detect lumbosacral foraminal stenosis. At our hospital, the following parameters were examined on standing radiographs of the lumbar spine in 100 patients who underwent surgery for lumbar spinal canal and/or foraminal stenosis: 1) presence or absence of the inclination of L5 toward the symptomatic side, 2) distance between the pedicle of L5 and S1, 3) width of the transverse process of L5, 4) distance between the transverse process of L5 and the sacral ala, 5) length of the lateral osteophyte of L5, 6) lumbosacral angle, 7) disc height of L5-S1, and 8) presence or absence of spondylolisthesis of L5. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2021 12;100(51):e28319

University Institute of Public Health, University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan.

BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2021 Dec 8;22(1):1026. Epub 2021 Dec 8.

The Spinal Research Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, The Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Ramat Aviv, Israel.

Background: Although Degenerative Spondylolisthesis (DS) is a common osseous dysfunction, very few studies have examined the bony morphology of lumbar the neural arch in the population afflicted with DS. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the neural arch (NA) morphology along the entire lumbar spine in individuals with degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) and compare them to healthy controls.

Methods: One hundred CTs from a database of 500 lumbar CTs of spondylolisthesis were selected. Read More

PLoS One 2021 1;16(12):e0260460. Epub 2021 Dec 1.

Department of Orthopedics, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea.

Objective: The demand for treating degenerative lumbar spinal disease has been increasing, leading to increased utilization of medical resources. Thus, we need to understand how the budget of insurance is currently used. The objective of the present study is to overview the utilization of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) by providing the direct insured cost between patients receiving surgery and patients receiving nonsurgical treatment for degenerative lumbar disease. Read More

Zhongguo Gu Shang 2021 Jul;34(11):1016-9

The First Department of Orthopaedics, Baoding No.1 Central Hospital, Baoding 071000, Hebei, China.

Objective: To investigate the effect and correlation of spinopelvic sagittal parameters and facet joint angle on degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis.

Methods: From July 2016 to September 2019, a total of 120 patients with L-L single segment degenerative spondylolisthesis were selected as observation objects (spondylolisthesis group), and 120 patients with L-L single-segment degenerative spinal stenosis matched by gender and age were selected as the control group. The following parameters were measured by imaging data:pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), sacral slope (SS), lumbar lordosis (LL), thoracic kyphosis (TK), sagittal vertical axis (SVA), L-L cephalic facet joint angle, caudal facet joint angle and facet asymmetry. Read More

J Bodyw Mov Ther 2021 10 1;28:219-224. Epub 2021 Aug 1.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Kikugawa General Hospital, Kikugawa City, Higashiyokoji, 1632, Japan.

Introduction: To determine the physical characteristics of patients with symptomatic lumbar spondylolysis (LS) who have recurrent low back pain after returning to sports.

Method: Fifty-three adolescent patients with symptomatic LS participated in this study. Patients with symptomatic LS were assessed for flexibility, trunk muscle strength, and Functional Movement Screen (FMS) score, and then divided into two groups according to the degree of pain experienced one month after returning to sport. Read More

Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2021 12;46(23):E1292

Spanish Back Pain Resesarch Network, Spain.

BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2021 Nov 1;22(1):920. Epub 2021 Nov 1.

Department of Cardiovascular surgery, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510000, Guangdong, China.

Objective: This paper was a anatomical radiographic study of distance between lumbar bi-cortical pedicle screws (BPSs) and anterior large vessels (ALVs) in patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis, and to provide clinical basis for evaluating the safety of bi-cortical pedicle screw implantation during lumbar spondylolisthesis.

Methods: Complete Computed tomography (CT) data of 104 patients with grade I lumbar spondylolisthesis (L4 52 and L5 52) and 107 non-spondylolisthesis patients (control group) were collected in this study. The distances between lumbar 4,5(L4,5) and sacrum 1(S1) BPSs and ALVs (abdominal aorta, inferior vena cava, left and right common iliac artery, internal and external iliac artery) were respectively measured at different transverse screw angles (TSAs) (L4:5°,10°; L5:10°,15°; S1:0°,5°,10°) and analyzed by SPSS (v25. Read More

Clin Spine Surg 2022 06 14;35(5):208-212. Epub 2021 Oct 14.

Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

Transdiscal screw fixation through the Boachie screw technique at the lumbosacral junction is a well-accepted procedure in the treatment of high-grade spondylolisthesis. This technique allows for partial reduction of the spondylolisthesis, decompression of the neural elements, and reliable posterior lumbosacral fixation. When performed properly, this procedure produces reliable results and high rates of arthrodesis with relief of preoperative neurological symptoms. Read More