Observational Study
Copyright ©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Radiol. Nov 28, 2014; 6(11): 881-885
Published online Nov 28, 2014. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v6.i11.881
Association between facet joint osteoarthritis and the Oswestry Disability Index
Adel Maataoui, Thomas J Vogl, Marcus Middendorp, Konstantinos Kafchitsas, M Fawad Khan
Adel Maataoui, Thomas J Vogl, M Fawad Khan, Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Goethe University, 60590 Frankfurt/ Main, Germany
Marcus Middendorp, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Goethe University, 60590 Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Konstantinos Kafchitsas, Spine Surgery, Asklepios Clinic Lindenlohe, 92421 Schwandorf, Germany
Author contributions: Vogl TJ and Khan MF supervised the project; Maataoui A, Middendorp M, Kafchitsas K, Vogl TJ and Khan MF designed the study and analysed the data; Maataoui A, Middendorp M and Khan MF wrote the main paper; all authors discussed and interpreted the results and implications and commented on the manuscript at all stages.
Correspondence to: Adel Maataoui, MD, Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt/Main, Germany. adel.maataoui@gmx.de
Telephone: +49-69-63015534 Fax: +49-69-63014222
Received: August 16, 2014
Revised: September 30, 2014
Accepted: October 14, 2014
Published online: November 28, 2014
Core Tip

Core tip: Together with secondary disorders facet joint osteoarthritis (FJOA) sets a big burden on health care systems and economics of the western countries. Although FJOA is a common finding on lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), valid data with regard to correlation with clinical pain scores is missing. The presented study assesses the relationship between increasing grades of FJOA and the Oswestry Disability Score in a large cohort of lumbar MRIs. The results show a weak positive correlation between ODI and FJOA, proving the importance of an adequate clinical approach in patients with low back pain.