Radiographic analysis of lumbar spine for low-back pain in the general population

We sought to demonstrate a correlation between low-back pain (LBP) and the plain radiographic findings of the lumbar spine in the general population b ased on an analysis of 838 persons, 387 of whom presented with complaints o f low-back pain. The incidence of intervertebral narrowing and irregular os sification of the vertebral end-plate image increased consistently with age and was higher in the presence of LBP in any age or gender group. Multireg ression analysis was performed with the imaging factors as multivariates. A s a result, multiregression equations with irregular ossification of the ve rtebral end-plate image, intervertebral narrowing, spondylolisthesis and ab normal lumbar lordotic angle combined as variates showed the highest signif icance as predictors of a relationship with LBP. The discrimination analysi s was performed using the linear discriminant function, resulting in a true discrimination rate of 65%. Plain radiography of the lumbar spine is thus significant as it provides information which can be evaluated as meaningful findings in the investigation of LBP. In addition, while the significance can be increased by considering multiple factors, it is important to unders tand the limits of the accuracy of this prediction.