Neurology and Neurosurgery

The degenerative lumbar spine is one of the greatest causes of absence of work in the Western society and the costs for low back pain (LBP) are increasing. An early diagnosis of spine injury could be of great importance in the management of the disease. The advantages in diagnostic imaging allow us to visualize any component of the spine in many ways and through different points of view with low or no invasive methods. This lecture will point on the early changes that happen on spine and how to diagnose them. Starting from a finite elements (FE)“non pathological” functional model of the lumbar spine an examination of the findings in plane radiograms and in CT and MRI examinations in pediatric and younger patients, correlated with clinical pictures will be made. Early changes in lumbar spine biomechanics can often be seen in plain radiograms and confirmed with MRI examinations in orthostatism or with orthostatic simulation.