Journal of Pain Research (Sep 2022)

Analysis of Chronic Low Back Pain Caused by Lumbar Microinstability After Percutaneous Endoscopic Transforaminal Discectomy: A Retrospective Study

  • Fu Y,
  • Yan YC,
  • Ru XL,
  • Qu HB

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 15
pp. 2821 – 2831

Abstract

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Yang Fu, Ying-Chao Yan, Xuan-Liang Ru, Hang-Bo Qu Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Zhejiang Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Hang-Bo Qu, Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Zhejiang Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-153-5571-0890, Email [email protected]: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) after percutaneous endoscopic transforaminal discectomy (PTED) surgery may be caused by preoperative lumbar microinstability (MI). However, there is a paucity of research on the relationship between lumbar microinstability and chronic low back pain. The purpose of this article is to assess the preoperative radiographic characteristics of patients and evaluate the effects of lumbar microinstability on patient-reported outcomes among single-level lumbar disc herniation (LDH) patients who underwent PTED.Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed the radiographic characteristics of a consecutive series of 127 patients with low back pain and leg pain caused by single-level LDH underwent PTED from August 2018 to March 2021. They were divided into three groups according to the radiographic parameters: the stable group (Group S), the dysfunctional group (Group D), and the microinstability group (Group M). The visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for leg and low back pain and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for CLBP.Results: Compared with Group D and Group S, Group M had the highest ODI scores (P 0.05). In addition, the logistic regression analysis results regarding CLBP revealed that muscle fatty degeneration on MRI (95% CI, 1.20– 8.51, P = 0.02), and facet tropism (95% CI, 1.39 − 11.37, P = 0.01) may be independent risk factors.Conclusion: Patients with lumbar microinstability may have CLBP after PTED, so patients with lumbar microinstability may need to take internal fixation surgery to solve their symptoms.Keywords: chronic low back pain, PTED, microinstability, risk factor

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