Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease:Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings In Patients With Low Back Pain In Zanzibar,Tanzania

BackgroundLower back pain(LBP) is a public health problem and lumbar disk degenerative disease(LDDD) is a main cause. Studies elsewhere show that the prevalence of LDDD ranges from 85%- 95%. MRI being the best modality for spine disorders, we studied pattern of LDDD in patients with LBP.MethodsThis was a seven months, hospital based descriptive, prospective study which involved all patients presenting with LBP referred for MRI. Patient characteristics were analyzed using SPSS version 17.ResultsOne hundred and sixty five patients were recruited into the study. Their ages ranged from 20 to 80 years with a mean of 50±12.5 years. Female accounted for 87(53%) of the cases.Most of the patients had LDDD. The disease mostly affected individuals in the age group above 60 years(P<0.05) with no sex difference. Disk herniation, central canal stenosis and nerve root compression were significantly seen in patients with radiculopathy(P=0.00). L4/L5 & L5/S1 were the most affected.ConclusionsLDDD occurs in all age groups but individual aged 60 years and above are most affected. There is a relationship between radiculopathy and disk herniation, central canal stenosis and nerve root compression. The lower lumbar spine levels remain the most affected area for disk degenerative disease.