X-RAY AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING FEATURES IN PATIENTS WITH ACQUIRED LUMBAR SPINAL STENOSIS

Background: Lumbar spinal stenosis often associates with chronic pain described the abnormal narrowing of the lumbar spinal canal, resulting in compression of neural elements within the central spinal canal or the lateral recesses or the root canals or coordinate with each other. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the plain X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging features of lumbar canal stenosis. Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 78 patients with an acquired lumbar spinal canal between October 2017 and May 2018. Results: The X-rays confirmed osteophytes in 92.3%, endplate sclerosis in 88.5% and disc space narrowing 62.8%. On MRI, 213 lumbar levels were lumbar spinal canal stenosis, 181 lumbar levels were evaluated for the grade of central spinal canal stenosis. Conclusions: X-ray examination has limitations in a diagnosis of lumbar spinal stenosis but also serves as a diagnostic aid. MRI is well diagnosed as spinal pathology as well as lumbar spinal stenosis. Key words: Lumbar spinal, Lumbar spinal stenosis, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ray, Grading