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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Rev Bras Ortop (Sao Paulo) 2022; 57(05): 815-820
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1744501
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The Influence of Schmorl Nodes in Spinal Sagittal Balance in Young Adults

Article in several languages: português | English
Joana Gomes da Silva  ‡   *
1   Departamento de Cirurgia Ortopédica e Traumatologia, Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal
2   Unidade Local de Saúde do Nordeste, Centro de Saúde Mirandela II, Mirandela, Portugal
,
Mário Baptista  ‡   *
1   Departamento de Cirurgia Ortopédica e Traumatologia, Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal
,
Bruno Direito-Santos 
1   Departamento de Cirurgia Ortopédica e Traumatologia, Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal
3   Escola de Medicina, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
4   Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Escola de Medicina, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
5   ICVS/3B's, ALaboratório Associado do Governo Português, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
,
Pedro Varanda 
1   Departamento de Cirurgia Ortopédica e Traumatologia, Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal
3   Escola de Medicina, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
4   Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Escola de Medicina, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
5   ICVS/3B's, ALaboratório Associado do Governo Português, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
,
Rui M. Duarte 
1   Departamento de Cirurgia Ortopédica e Traumatologia, Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal
3   Escola de Medicina, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
4   Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, Escola de Medicina, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
5   ICVS/3B's, ALaboratório Associado do Governo Português, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
› Author Affiliations Financial Support No funds, grants, or other support was received for conducting the present study.
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Abstract

Objectives The present study aims to characterize the spinal balance (SB) in young adults with Schmorl nodes (SN).

Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 47 young adults. Lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to divide the patients into an SN group and a control group. Standing full spine radiographs were used to compare the spinopelvic SB parameters between groups: sagittal vertical axis, thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), and sacral slope (SS).

Results The LL and SS values were significantly lower in patients with SN when compared with the control group (54.5° versus 64.3°; 36.2° versus 41.4°, respectively). No significant differences were observed for the other parameters. Significant correlations were found in both groups between LL and SS; PI and PT; and PI and SS.

Conclusions Young adults with SN have associated SB modifications, particularly lower LL and SS values, when compared with a control group. This flatter profile resembles that observed in patients with lower back pain and early disc pathology. We believe that SNs are relevant clinical findings that should prompt the study of the SB of a patient, as it may uncover variations associated with early disc degeneration.

Level of Evidence III

Keywords

lordosis - lumbar vertebrae - spinal fusion - young adult

Work developed in the Hospital de Braga, Braga, Portugal.


* Joana Gomes da Silva and Mário Baptista contributed equally to the article.




Publication History

Received: 29 November 2021

Accepted: 20 January 2022

Article published online:
22 July 2022

© 2022. Sociedade Brasileira de Ortopedia e Traumatologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commecial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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