Spine Archive

SUMMARY: In 1,309 adults, better sit-to-stand performance and lumbar flexion/extension mobility were associated with better SF-36 scores and lower odds of chronic low back pain, supporting their use in functional spine assessment.

SUMMARY: In 748 lumbar surgery patients followed 2 years, disability scores, health status, and satisfaction (~84%) followed different trajectories, so satisfaction and MID/PASS thresholds are complementary rather than interchangeable outcome measures.

SUMMARY: In a 240-patient retrospective cohort, the RAVEN score combining opportunistic CT bone attenuation with clinical factors modestly stratified 1-3 year fragility fracture risk (C-index 0.64); external validation is needed before use.

SUMMARY: In 427 sciatica patients, back-specific (modified Roland) and general (SF-36 physical) quality-of-life measures were valid and most responsive to change over 3 months, supporting their use in prospective evaluation.

SUMMARY: This review examines endoscopic spine surgery (transforaminal, interlaminar, biportal), comparing outcomes with open surgery and addressing patient selection, learning curve, complications, and research gaps.

SUMMARY: A narrative review of 15 studies found chronic low back pain self-management programs vary widely in content and outcome measures, underscoring the need for consensus on core components and evaluation.

SUMMARY: In laboratory work on OPLL-derived ligament cells, SATB2 overexpression boosted RUNX2 and Wnt/β-catenin-related signaling and promoted osteogenic differentiation, suggesting a possible role in OPLL pathogenesis; findings are preclinical.

SUMMARY: In 45 chronic low back pain patients, ultrasound-estimated connective tissue proportion in the L3 multifidus was lower after 6 months of restorative neurostimulation, though changes did not correlate linearly with pain or disability outcomes.

SUMMARY: In 725 navigated spinal screws, 95% were acceptably placed, with the largest planned-versus-achieved trajectory deviations in the subaxial cervical spine, but deviation correlated only weakly with screw misplacement.

SUMMARY: A 20-year review of 68 studies (3679 patients) found spinal cord stimulation safe and effective long-term for refractory angina, ischemic limb pain, neuropathic pain, and chronic low-back pain, though larger randomized trials are still needed.

SUMMARY: This narrative review covers the past decade of adult cervical deformity surgery advances in alignment targets, risk stratification, techniques, and long-term outcomes, with a trend toward patient-specific planning and future AI-based outcome prediction.

SUMMARY: This technical review describes anatomy and surgical technique for L4-5 and L5-S1 ALIF in the lateral decubitus position, which allows less vessel retraction and simultaneous anterior and posterior access without repositioning.

SUMMARY: In 167 patients with spinal metastases, separation surgery had less blood loss and shorter operative time than expanded anterior column resection, with no significant difference in survival or local recurrence.

SUMMARY: This narrative review of 23 studies found vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty are safe, effective for pain and function in myeloma-related vertebral fractures, with no significant difference between them and mostly asymptomatic cement leakage.

SUMMARY: In 438 adolescent-onset idiopathic scoliosis surgery patients, older age at surgery was associated with lower postoperative SRS-22r function at 2 and 5 years, but observational data cannot show earlier surgery improves outcomes.

SUMMARY: Pediatric Spine Study Group consensus defines an early onset scoliosis "graduate" as a patient who has had any surgical program, reached skeletal maturity, and has no planned future EOS surgery.

SUMMARY: Of 37 systematic reviews on AI/ML in spine surgery, 86.5% contained spin in the abstract, especially in lower-impact journals and weaker-quality reviews, so their conclusions should be read cautiously.

SUMMARY: In an NSQIP analysis of cervical myelopathy surgery, frailty, diabetes, and preoperative septic shock modestly predicted failure to rescue after complications; adding postoperative cardiopulmonary events markedly improved prediction, highlighting cardiopulmonary surveillance as a target.

SUMMARY: Review proposing 'degenerative cervical myelopathy' as the umbrella term for spondylosis, OPLL, OLF, and disc degeneration causing cord compression, summarizing epidemiology, pathophysiology, and genetic risk factors.

SUMMARY: This 1982 Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research paper by Urban, Holm, Maroudas, and Nachemson addresses how the intervertebral disc is nourished; no abstract was provided, so findings are not summarized.

SUMMARY: General-purpose AI models estimated Cobb angles within 5 degrees of spine surgeons in about 91-95% of cases but were unreliable for Lenke classification and landmarks, so they should not guide surgical planning.

SUMMARY: This review covers EOS biplanar imaging, which gives standing 2D/3D whole-body images with 50-80% less radiation than conventional X-rays, and is especially useful for scoliosis, sagittal balance, and limb torsion, though 3D reconstruction needs a trained operator.

SUMMARY: Review of common sacral and lumbosacral transitional variants, their imaging and classification, and why recognizing them matters for surgical planning, instrumentation, and outcomes in sacropelvic and lumbosacral surgery.

SUMMARY: In 8 skeletally mature idiopathic scoliosis patients, adding OLIF did not correct tilt of the lowest instrumented vertebra, and 6 developed adding-on, so it did not allow shorter distal fusion.

SUMMARY: In a national trauma database, surgery within 24 hours of admission for thoracic spinal cord injury, isolated or polytrauma, was linked to fewer complications and better discharge disposition than later surgery.

SUMMARY: In 289 chronic low back pain patients, the minimal clinically important difference was about 10 points for Oswestry, 12 for General Function Score, 8-9 for Zung, and 18-19 for back pain VAS; only VAS clearly exceeded measurement error.

SUMMARY: Review for spine surgeons of musculoskeletal aging biology, covering senescence, sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and frailty, and how diagnostic, predictive, and prognostic biomarkers could eventually support personalized care of the aging spine.

SUMMARY: This narrative review finds acupuncture may be a safe adjunct after degenerative lumbar spine surgery, reducing pain and inflammation and aiding function, but evidence quality is moderate and techniques are heterogeneous.

SUMMARY: Narrative review finds conflicting evidence on perioperative cannabis for pain after lumbar spine surgery, with observational data suggesting harm and no level I evidence, so no firm recommendation is possible.

SUMMARY: After complete decompression of intradural extramedullary tumors with extraspinal extension, retained extraspinal residual grew in only 20% and rarely needed reoperation, so subtotal resection with surveillance can be reasonable when gross total resection adds risk.