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Lumbar facet joint subchondral bone density in low back pain and asymptomatic subjects

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Abstract

Objective

To report in vivo measurements of lumbar facet joint subchondral bone mineral density used in the description of facet joint loading patterns and to interrogate if low back pain is associated with changes in subchondral bone mineral density.

Materials and methods

In vivo measurements of lumbar facet joint subchondral bone mineral density (L1/2 to L5/S1) in Hounsfield units were performed on 89 volunteers (56 controls and 33 with low back pain) by computed tomography osteoabsorptiometry at subchondral regions between 1.5 mm and 2.5 mm below the joint surface. The facet surface was divided into five topographic zones: cranial, lateral, caudal, medial, and central.

Results

We analyzed 1780 facet joint surfaces. Facets were denser (p < 0.0001) both in superior facets and in low back pain subjects (p < 0.0001). For the entire cohort, the facet center zone subchondral bone mineral density was higher (p < 0.0001) than that of the peripheral zones. The analyses indicate that subchondral bone mineral density is highest in patients with low back pain, the superior facets, and the center zone of the facets.

Conclusions

Subchondral bone mineral density is thought to reflect cumulative, long-term distribution of stress acting on a joint. This work shows that higher subchondral bone mineral density values in the center zone indicate predominant stress transmission through the center of the facet joints. Finally, the greater subchondral bone mineral density in patients with low back pain may reflect both increased load bearing by the facets secondary to disc degeneration and misdistribution of loading within the joint.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Institute on Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Grant (5P01 AR048152-10, PI: GBJ Andersson) and National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) grant 1R01-AT006692-01A1, PI: N Inoue). The authors wish to thank Dr. Daniel Bohl for his careful help with editing this manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by the NIH - NIAMS and NCCIH institutes.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Peter Simon

    Present address: Phillip Spiegel Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, Foundation for Orthopaedic Research and Education, Tampa, FL, USA

  2. Ryota Takatori

    Present address: Department of Orthopedics, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, 1611 W Harrison Street, Suite 201 Orthopedic Building, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA

    Chien-Chou Pan, Peter Simon, Alejandro A. Espinoza Orías, Ryota Takatori, Howard S. An, Gunnar B. J. Andersson & Nozomu Inoue

  2. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan

    Chien-Chou Pan

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  1. Chien-Chou Pan
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Correspondence to Nozomu Inoue.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Pan, CC., Simon, P., Espinoza Orías, A.A. et al. Lumbar facet joint subchondral bone density in low back pain and asymptomatic subjects. Skeletal Radiol 49, 571–576 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-019-03314-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-019-03314-w

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