Investigation of the Role of Schmorl’s Nodes in Lumbar Disc Degeneration in Pa-tients with Low Back Pain (Ahvaz, 2022–2023)

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common condition, affecting approximately 637 million people worldwide. One possible contributing factor to LBP is the presence of Schmorl's nodes. The present study aimed to investigate the association between Schmorl's nodes and degenerative changes i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mohammad Ghasem Hanafi, Zahra Fazelinejad, Maryam Hoseini Siahi, Amir Mansouri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Bushehr University of Medical Sciences 2025-07-01
Series:Iranian South Medical Journal
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Online Access:http://ismj.bpums.ac.ir/article-1-2171-en.pdf
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Summary:Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common condition, affecting approximately 637 million people worldwide. One possible contributing factor to LBP is the presence of Schmorl's nodes. The present study aimed to investigate the association between Schmorl's nodes and degenerative changes in the lumbar intervertebral discs in MRI scans of patients with LBP. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 160 adult patients with LBP and radiologically confirmed intervertebral disc degenerative changes. Results: The study sample comprised equal numbers of male and female patients, with a mean age of 21.54 years. The prevalence of Schmorl's nodes was higher in men and showed a significant association with degeneration grading, disc herniation (P=0.003), and Modic changes (MC) (P<0.001). Additionally, Schmorl's nodes were significantly associated with vertebrae L1, L2, L3, L5, and S1, but not with L4 (P=0.45). Weight was also related to Schmorl's nodes (P=0.04), and this relationship was confirmed with age, height, gender and body mass index (BMI). In the multivariate regression model, age, gender and weight remained significantly associated with the presence of Schmorl's nodes (P=0.001). Conclusion: Schmorl's nodes are significantly associated with lumbar disc degeneration grading, disc herniation, Modic changes (MC) and weight. Additionally, their prevalence was higher in men and was correlated with age, height, and BMI. Further studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to confirm and expand upon these findings.
ISSN:1735-4374
1735-6954