Retrospective Study of Degenerative Lumbar Disorders

This study used a retrospective design and a convenience sampling method. It included patients who underwent standing film and MRI examinations and were diagnosed with DLD at this hospital between 1 January 2015 and 1 June 2016. The Institutional Review Board approved the study (approval number: ID:2014–426), and each patient gave written consent. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients with lumbar spinal stenosis, lumbar disc hernia or lumbar spondylolisthesis; (2) age ≥ 50 years; (3) no underlying congenital or neurological abnormalities; (4) no leg length discrepancy > 2 cm; (5) Cobb angle < 20°; (6) no more than 1 month between the standing x-ray and MRI. The exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) previous spinal surgery; (2) incomplete clinical and imaging data; (3) nondegenerative spine pathologies; (4) fracture of a vertebra. The standing radiographs were taken with a digital flat panel detector system, and the MRI was obtained with a 1.5 T MRI scanner (Siemens, Germany). All radiographic and MRI images were assessed by means of the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) workstation of our hospital.