Evaluation of Lumber Lordotic Angle in Patients with Inter Vertebral Disc Prolapse using Cobbs Method

Abstract

This study was done to evaluate the lumbar lordotic angle (LLA) in patients with inter vertebral disc prolapse examined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using Cobb’s method. This study was conducted at Antalya Medical center and Elnilin Medical Center and extended from November 2012 up to March 2013. Total sample of 62 Sudanese subjects were included in the study, with ages ranging between (24-80 years), 50 of the total sample were 25 males and 25 females underwent MR lumbar scan and were diagnosed to have inter vertebral disc prolapse at different vertebral levels, the remaining 12 were diagnosed as normal lumbar spine and they were considered as control group. Measurement of (LLA) was done from the mid-sagittal slice of T2 MRI lumbar spine using Cobb’s method; by drawing a perpendicular line to a line drawn across the superior endplate of first lumbar vertebra and the superior endplate of first sacral vertebra; the angle formed by the intersection of the two perpendicular lines is the Cobb angle or lumbar lordotic angle. The Cobb angle and inter vertebral disc prolapse level were then correlated with Gender, age, weight, height, body mass index (BMI) and jobs to demonstrate if there is any degree of association. The study concluded that Cobb angle and Disc prolapse levels have no significant relation with job, height, weight, age and BMI, no significant difference was detected between Cobb angle of the normal subjects and patients with prolapsed disc and the results did not differ among male and female patients. Using MRI in the detection of vertebral morphological changes and end plates degeneration is recommended since it involves no ionizing radiation and has excellent demarcation of disc prolapse. The dependence upon the Cobb angle in diagnoses of disc prolapse is of no significant value.