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Abstract
Purpose
To describe and analyze the clinical features of degenerative scoliosis so that we could guess the pathogenesis of the disease.
Materials and Methods
Forty- eight adults with degenerative scoliosis were reviewed. We evaluated the symptoms and physical findings. Simple radiographs of the lumbar spine and MRI films were investigated.
Results
All patients had low- back pain, and eleven of them had severe low- back pain. Forty- six patients(96%) had lower extremity symptoms, and 80% of them had severe symptoms. The mean curve was 18。 (range, 11o- 44。). The mean lordosis was 27。 (range, - 16。 - +45。). The frequency of significant degenerative change was highest in the low- lumbar region. Stenosis detected on MRI was present in the low- lumbar area in most cases and a limited number of cases revealed stenosis on the mid-lumbar area. The most frequent incidence of stenosis was at L4- 5.
Summary and Conclusion
The frequency of degenerative change was highest in the low- lumbar region and significant cases revealed degenerative change only in low- lumbar area. This may imply that degeneration and instability of low- lumbar area can cause secondary biomechanical compensation at above levels, resulting in scoliosis and degenerative change.
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Fig. 1.
These radiographs of a patient with scoliosis show typical pathologies of degenerative scoliosis including scoliosis, tilt, rotation of vertebral bodies, lateral subluxation and olisthesis.
Table 1.
Symptoms and physical findings
Table 2.
Radiographic features of the curves
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