Proposal for a new scoring system for spinal degeneration: Mo-Fi-Disc
Murat Şakir Ekşi1, Emel Ece Özcan-Ekşi2, Ömer Orhun3
1Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University, School of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Istanbul, Turkey.
Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery
|September 5, 2020
Summary
A new scoring system, Mo-fi-disc, effectively evaluates spinal degeneration and predicts intense low back pain (LBP). Higher Mo-fi-disc scores correlate with increased LBP severity, offering an objective classification tool.
Area of Science:
- Radiology
- Orthopedics
- Pain Management
Background:
- Spinal degeneration assessment is crucial for understanding low back pain (LBP).
- Current radiological classifications may not fully capture the complexity of spinal degeneration.
- Objective tools are needed to correlate spinal changes with pain intensity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel scoring system, Mo-fi-disc, for spinal degeneration.
- To assess Modic changes, paraspinal muscle fatty infiltration (fi), and intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD).
- To determine if the Mo-fi-disc score predicts patients with more intense LBP.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional analysis of a retrospective database (March 2018 - July 2020).
- Evaluation of Modic changes, paraspinal muscle fatty infiltration, and IVDD on lumbar spine MRI.
- Grouping patients by LBP intensity using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores.
Main Results:
- 134 patients (mean age 35.44 ± 6.5 years) were evaluated.
- Higher VAS scores correlated significantly with higher Mo-disc, fi, and Mo-fi-disc scores (p < 0.01).
- The Mo-fi-disc score was the most significant predictor of higher VAS scores (OR 1.193, p = 0.005).
Conclusions:
- The Mo-fi-disc scoring system demonstrates a significant association with LBP intensity.
- This system provides an easy and objective method for classifying spinal degeneration.
- Mo-fi-disc aids in understanding the relationship between spinal degeneration and LBP severity.
