title: Lumbosacral transitional vertebrae and low back pain.
abstract: The correlation between lumbosacral transitional vertebrae and low back pain was analyzed in a study of plain radiographs from normal subjects and patients with chronic low back pain. Of 184 normal subjects, only 29 (15.8%) had transitional vertebrae, while 97 (35.1%) of 276 patients were noted to have transitional vertebrae. The difference was highly significant (p < 0.01). The incidence of Castellvi type II transitional vertebrae was significantly higher in patients with low back pain than in controls (p < 0.01). This study indicates the etiologic significance of lumbosacral transitional vertebra in low back pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography