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Web End = Eur Spine J (2015) 24:20852094 DOI 10.1007/s00586-014-3537-y
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Web End = Gait abnormality due to spinal instability after lumbar facetectomy in the rat
Daisuke Fukui Mamoru Kawakami
Munehito Yoshida Shin-ichi Nakao
Toshiko Matsuoka Hiroshi Yamada
Received: 31 March 2014 / Revised: 18 August 2014 / Accepted: 19 August 2014 / Published online: 4 September 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
AbstractPurpose Spinal instability of the lumbar spine causes various clinical symptoms. Among them, spinal instability is thought to contribute to low back pain, but the patho-physiological mechanisms are controversial. Although experimental animal models of spinal instability have been reported, it is unknown whether these models produce pain and whether spinal instability affects walking ability. We used the CatWalk system to investigate whether lumbar facetectomy causes gait abnormalities and low back pain. Methods Thirty male SpragueDawley rats were divided into three experimental groups. In the sham group, only the bilateral L4L5 facet joints were exposed. In the experimental group, rats underwent complete resection of the bilateral L4L5 facet joints without neural tissue injury. The control group comprised nave rats. The CatWalk system was used to analyze gait in postoperative weeks 3,4.5, 6, and 7. Radiological and histological analyses were also performed.
Results At 7 weeks postoperatively, the rats in the experimental group showed the gait abnormalities seen in low back pain and neuropathic pain models. Radiological examination of the same rats revealed spinal instability with histological evidence of intervertebral disc degeneration.
Conclusions These results suggest that spinal instability and/or intervertebral disc degeneration induce gait abnormalities and low back pain. This experimental model may be useful for elucidating the mechanisms underlying clinical symptoms, such as low back pain, in patients with spinal instability.
Keywords Lumbar facetectomy Spinal instability Low
back pain CatWalk method
Introduction
Spinal instability in the lumbar spine is considered an important pathophysiological mechanism of spinal disorders associated with several clinical symptoms and signs [1, 2]. Spinal instability by itself is thought to contribute to low back pain [3], but the pathophysiological mechanisms for this are controversial. Objective...