In vivo topographic analysis of lumbar facet joint space width distribution in healthy and symptomatic subjects

作者：P. Simon, Alejandro A. Espinoza Orías, G. Andersson, H. An, N. Inoue · 发表于：Spine · 年份：2012 · DOI：10.1097/BRS.0b013e3182552ec9 · 被引用次数：55 · 研究领域：Medicine

Study Design. In vivo 3-dimensional facet joint space width measurement. Objective. To determine lumbar facet joint space width within clinically relevant topographical zones in vivo and its correlations with age, level, and presence of lower back pain symptoms. Summary of Background Data. Facet joint gap narrowing, articular cartilage thinning, and subarticular cortical bone hypertrophy are frequently observed age-related changes. Facet joint space width is a well-defined parameter to evaluate osteoarthritis. To the best of our knowledge, there is no other study that quantifies 3-dimensional facet joint space width distribution in vivo. Methods. Three-dimensional measurement to quantify facet joint space width distribution based on 5 clinically relevant topographic zones in a cohort of healthy and symptomatic volunteers with low back pain, using subject-based 3-dimensional computed tomographic models with respect to spinal level, subject age, sex, and presence/absence of lower back pain. Results. Facet joint space width (mean ± SD) was 1.93 ± 0.51 mm for the central zone, 1.75 ± 0.48 mm for the superior zone, 1.63 ± 0.49 mm for the inferior zone, 1.48 ± 0.44 mm for the medial zone, and 1.65 ± 0.48 mm for the lateral zone, respectively. There were no significant differences between right and left facet joints. Male patients showed larger space width than female patients. Overall, space width of symptomatic subjects was significantly narrower than that of the asymptomatic grou...