Yixue Huang,* Wenhao Wang,* Linlin Zhang,* Yun Teng, Zihao Zhan, Huilin Yang, Peng Yang

Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Peng Yang; Huilin Yang, Department of Orthopaedics, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, 188 Shizi Street, Suzhou, 215006, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 512 67972157, Email ypspine@163.com; szyhlspine@163.com

Background: To determine the factors in posterior ligamentous complex indicating lumbar instability in patients diagnosed with degenerative spondylolisthesis on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent PLIF surgery for degenerative spondylolisthesis at our institution between 2018 and 2020 and who had complete eligible preoperative imaging data for review and study, including lumbar MRI and anteroposterior and flexion-extension radiographs.
Results: Fifty-three patients were confirmed to have lumbar instability (Unstable Group, 44%), while sixty-seven patients (Stable Group, 56%) did not have instability on radiographs. The patients in the stable group had more advanced status of the degeneration of intervertebral disc than in the unstable group (p< 0.05). The degeneration of supraspinous ligament (SSL) was more severe in the unstable group (p< 0.05). Compared with the patients with rotatory instability, advanced degeneration of interspinous ligament (ISL) and SSL was observed in patients with translatory instability (p< 0.05). However, there was no significant difference with regard to the height of the spinous process and the interspinous distance in patients with or without instability.
Conclusion: This MRI analysis showed that abnormal segmental motion is closely associated with the pathological characteristics of supraspinal ligament. Advanced degeneration of SSL in patients with degenerative spondylolisthesis should raise the suspicion for lumbar instability and additional evaluations. The status of ISL and ligamentum flavum (LF) may not be helpful for the diagnosis of lumbar instability. Functional radiographs combined with MRI may provide valuable information when diagnosing lumbar instability in patients with mechanical back pain.

Keywords: interspinous distance, lumbar instability, MRI, posterior ligament complex, spinal process