Author(s): Koichi Iwatsuki | Toshiki Yoshimine | Kazuhiro Yoshimura | Masahiro Ishihara | Yu-ichiro Ohnishi | Yuko Goto
Journal: Clinical Medicine Insights : Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders
ISSN 1179-5441
Volume: 2010;
Issue: 3;
Start page: 1;
Date: 2010;
Original page
ABSTRACT
We report a case of intractable chronic low-back pain in a gymnast that was caused by ligamentopathia in the interspinous region of the lumbar vertebrae. Sprained interspinous ligaments are a common mechanical cause of acute low-back pain in athletes. Although conservative therapy is generally effective in such cases, in this case it was not. The patient experienced severe low-back pain during lumbar flexion with tension between the L5/S interspinous ligaments. We performed interspinous fixation by using a spinous process plate system, which has been developed for short in situ fusions, and following which the low-back pain resolved. Conservative therapy for low-back pain caused by ligamentopathia is first-line choice, but interspinous fixation with instrumentation might be recommended in intractable cases with conservative therapy.
Journal: Clinical Medicine Insights : Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders
ISSN 1179-5441
Volume: 2010;
Issue: 3;
Start page: 1;
Date: 2010;
Original page
ABSTRACT
We report a case of intractable chronic low-back pain in a gymnast that was caused by ligamentopathia in the interspinous region of the lumbar vertebrae. Sprained interspinous ligaments are a common mechanical cause of acute low-back pain in athletes. Although conservative therapy is generally effective in such cases, in this case it was not. The patient experienced severe low-back pain during lumbar flexion with tension between the L5/S interspinous ligaments. We performed interspinous fixation by using a spinous process plate system, which has been developed for short in situ fusions, and following which the low-back pain resolved. Conservative therapy for low-back pain caused by ligamentopathia is first-line choice, but interspinous fixation with instrumentation might be recommended in intractable cases with conservative therapy.
