Pattern of lumbosacral magnetic resonance imaging findings in diagnosed cases of disc degenerative disease among Nigerian adults with low back pain

Background: Lumbar spine disc degenerative disease (DDD) has been proven to be the most common cause of low back pain which causes musculoskeletal disability. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows detailed evaluation of all components of the lumbar spine and assesses abnormalities that may be associated with disc degeneration. Objective: To document the frequency of lumbosacral MRI findings in DDD with correlation to age, gender, and lumbar disc level. Methodology: Two hundred and eighty-one out of three hundred archived magnetic resonance images of patients aged 18 years and above investigated for low back pain at Memfys Hospital for Neurosurgery were enrolled into the study. Axial and sagittal magnetic resonance images were acquired at 5 mm slice thickness with 1 mm gap using spin echo pulse sequence. Results: The mean age of the study population was 55.11 years with a range of 18-91 years. Highest frequency of disc degenerative changes fell within 50-59 years age group and L4/L5 level with male preponderance. Positive findings were disc bulge 51.2%, disc protrusion 87.5%, disc extrusion 19.6%, disc sequestration 1.78%, Modic endplate changes 47.4%, Modic I 10.7%, Modic II 15.3%, and Modic III 21.4%. Logistic regression analysis showed that only posterior disc protrusion and disc bulge were significant. Odd ratio 0.062 and 0.015, respectively, while the beta values are −4.190 and −2.780, respectively. Conclusion: The most common lumbosacral MRI findings in diagnosed cases of DDD among patients with low back pain in this study were posterior disc protrusion, posterior disc bulge, and endplate changes.