BACKGROUND Ultrasonography - assisted lumbar puncture helps physicians identify traditional anatomical landmarks. However, it could help to overcome the anatomical dogmas and thus identify the best interspinous space under the medullary cone. METHODS Traditional anatomical landmarks were reported on a tracing paper in patients with an indication for lumbar puncture. Then, ultrasonography was ...

A large number of interspinous process devices (IPD) have been recently introduced to the lumbar spine market as an alternative to conventional decompressive surgery in managing symptomatic lumbar spinal pathology, especially in the older population. Despite the fact that they are composed of a wide range of different materials including titanium, polyetheretherketone, and elastomeric compounds...

Baastrup's disease or "kissing spines syndrome" was first described as a cause of lumbar pain before computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning existed. The diagnosis was based on x-ray studies, which showed that the spinous processes, especially in the lower lumbar spine, became approximated to each other and this was a generator of positional back pain. Biomech...

Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is a relatively common inflammatory condition characterised by pain, aching and morning stiffness involving the shoulder and hip girdles and the neck. 2 Patients are generally older than 50 years and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are usually elevated. PMR may occur as an isolated disease or it may be observed in the setting of...

background: the present study aims to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of dynamic interspinous spacer (coflex®) and static spacer (x-stop ®) compared to laminectomy (lami) in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.   methods: a decision-analysis model was developed to estimate the cost-effectiveness. the effectiveness parameters were obtained from a systematic literature review in relevant databas...

BACKGROUND Palpation has been shown to be inaccurate at identifying lumbar interspinous spaces. Our goal in this study was to compare ultrasound imaging of the region to palpation. METHODS Using ultrasound in the postpartum period, we estimated the interspinous level used for obstetric neuraxial anesthesia in 121 women and compared this estimation with the level estimated by palpation and doc...

A prospective, randomized, controlled trial was conducted to compare clinical outcomes in patients treated with an investigational interspinous spacer (Superion) versus those treated with an FDA-approved spacer (X-STOP). One hundred sixty-six patients with moderate lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) unresponsive to conservative care were treated randomly with the Superion (n = 80) or X-STOP (n = 86) ...