Displacement of vertebrae

Displacement of the vertebrae (spondylolisthesis) can occur due to various causes: from trauma to congenital anomalies. It should be noted that the acquired states in some cases are more difficult. Often, the displacement of vertebrae against the background of trauma or any disease is accompanied by attacks of severe pain, only surgical intervention can save them.

Often spondylolisthesis occurs in the lower part of the lumbar region. As a rule, the displacement of the vertebra occurs relatively inferior. The development of spondylolisthesis depends on the nature of the change in the disc, which usually occurs in the case of a defect in the interarticular region of the vertebral arch.

The ailment is in most cases bilateral.

Given the findings of the X-ray study, experts classify the displacement of the vertebrae into five degrees. The definition of each of them depends on the ratio of the shifted part of the posterior edge of the segment body relative to the underlying one. So, the first degree differs by a shift of three fourths of the posterior edge of the vertebral body, and at the fifth - the vertebra is completely displaced.

Spondylolisthesis can be stable and unstable.

In the second case, the relationships between the underlying and shifted segments vary according to the patient's posture. This does not occur with stable spondylolisthesis.

The nature of the disease depends not only on the degree of shift, but also on the causes that provoked it, and also on the species.

Displacement of vertebrae can be dysplastic. This type of shift is caused by a violation in the development of the sacrum. As a rule, children and adolescents are more vulnerable to it.

Spondylolysis is caused by a fracture that forms slowly and is caused by fatigue of the interarticular part of the vertebral arch. This species is common both among adults and children. In this case, the state is not characterized by the severity of the segment shift.

Degenerative displacement, as a rule, develops in old age. This state depends on the exchange changes.

Traumatic displacement occurs as a result of fractures in the articular processes or the interarticular region of the arch.

Pathological displacement accompanies certain diseases of the bone system.

The main signs of the development of pathology are pain sensations of varying intensity. It should be noted that they are localized depending on the location of the affected segment, the patient's age, and the degree of shear. In adult patients most often there are pain in the neck, lower back, back, lateral areas of the pelvis. For teenagers and children more unpleasant sensations in legs are more characteristic.

Diagnosis of the disease is carried out using an X-ray study. In order to clarify the details of the shift, MRI and CT are assigned.

Displacement of vertebrae. Treatment

When diagnosing spondylolisthesis of the first degree in adolescents and children, a therapeutic course is prescribed with the use of conservative methods. In the course of treatment, a plaster bandage is applied for three to four months, which seizes the pelvis, the thorax, and the lower limbs (bent at an obtuse angle) in the region of the hip joints to the knee area. Further therapy involves no less than six months to use hard corsets. Rest and bent position are mandatory. As a treatment used physiotherapy, health gymnastics, stay in a sanatorium, corsets.

Progressing course of the disease involves surgical intervention in the case of development of unstable form, in which there is no effect from conservative measures.