Investigation of Spinal Magnetic Resonance Imaging Results of Pediatric Patients Presenting with Low Back Pain

Abstract

Objective: Low back pain in pediatric patients can be severe in terms of its consequences and should be investigated. In this study, the etiology of pediatric low back pain was examined, and it was evaluated whether there was a relationship between age and gender. Material and Methods: In this study, 228 patients under 18 who applied to Şanlıurfa Training and Research Hospital Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Brain and Nerve Surgery polyclinics complained of low back pain and underwent spinal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: The ages of 228 patients included in our study ranged from 4 to 18 years, with a mean age of 12.8±2.5. 54.8% of the cases were male (n=125), 45.2% (n=103) were female. While MRI findings were not observed in 92 cases, MRI findings were found in 136 cases. Disc pathology was detected in 44.7% (n=102) of the cases, and structural pathology was found in 14.9% (n=36). The most common disc pathology was bulging, constituting 32.9% (n=75) of the cases. There was no significant difference between the genders of the cases according to the incidence of disc pathology (p=0.434). When age and incidence of disc pathology were evaluated, the age of the group with disc pathology was significantly higher than the group without disc pathology (p