Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease Increases Deformations at Cephalad Adjacent Levels In Vivo

Low back pain, one of the most common causes of disability in working population is in the vast majority of cases attributed to degeneration of the lumbar intervertebral disc (IVD). It has been reported that in patients with degenerative disc diseases (DDD) at one level, the discs adjacent to the diseased level have a greater tendency to degenerate. Studies have also suggested altered biomechanics as causative factors [1, 2]. However, to date no data has been reported on the deformation of the disc in vivo in DDD patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of lumbar IVD degeneration on the deformation of the discs at the adjacent levels during functional weightbearing postures.