Correlations of Lumbar Interspinous Distance with Neuroforaminal Dimensions, Disc Space Height, and Patient...

Area of Science:

• Spinal anatomy and biomechanics
• Radiological assessment of the lumbar spine
• Minimally invasive spinal surgery

Background:

• Accurate spinal anatomy knowledge is crucial for diagnosis and surgery.
• Interspinous distance (ISD), neuroforaminal dimensions (NFDs), and disc space height (DSH) are key spinal metrics.
• The interrelationship between these metrics and their correlation with demographic factors is not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between ISD and NFDs/DSH in a normative population.
• To determine if demographic factors influence ISD.
• To inform the clinical application of interspinous implants for lumbar conditions.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of 852 patients undergoing lumbar CT imaging.
• Measurement of ISD, NFDs (width, height, area), and DSH (anterior, middle, posterior).
• Statistical analysis to assess correlations between spinal metrics and demographic variables (ethnicity, sex, BMI).

Main Results:

• No significant correlation was found between ISD and NFDs or DSH.
• A weak correlation at L1-L3 diminished at L4-L5, a common site for interspinous implants.
• ISD showed no consistent relationship with ethnicity, sex, or BMI.

Conclusions:

• ISD is not a reliable predictor of NFDs or DSH in a healthy population.
• Demographic factors do not significantly alter ISD in this cohort.
• Findings suggest current assumptions about ISD influencing NFDs/DSH may not hold true for treatment planning.