Lumbar Facet Joint Effusion on Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Do Different Joint Effusion Images Have Different Clinical...

The objective of the study was to explore the significance of the distribution of lumbar facet joint effusion (unilateral or bilateral) and the amount of joint effusion in the process of lumbar degeneration.

A total of 142 patients with L4-5 lumbar facet joint effusion in our hospital from December 2020 to December 2021 were analyzed retrospectively, including 69 cases of unilateral facet joint effusion and 73 cases of bilateral facet joint effusion. The correlation between joint effusion width, effusion area and lumbar stability, facet joint degeneration grade, lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration index, and lumbosacral angle (LSA) was analyzed. To study the significance of the distribution of joint effusion, the patients were divided into unilateral and bilateral effusion groups.

The size of the LSA in the bilateral effusion group was significantly larger than that in the unilateral effusion group (t = 3.6634, P < 0.05). There was a significant difference in the proportion of stability between both groups (P < 0.05). The width of the joint effusion was positively correlated with lumbar stability and the LSA. When the width of the joint effusion was 2 mm, the probability of lumbar instability was 58.1%. The area of joint effusion was positively correlated with lumbar stability and the LSA. When the area of effusion was 0.2 cm², the probability of lumbar instability was 58.9%.

A bilateral effusion signal is more likely to indicate lumbar instability than a unilateral effusion signal. The distribution width and area of effusion were positively correlated with lumbar stability and LSA.