Association Between Clinical Signs and MRI Findings of the Lumbar Facet Joints

Association Between Clinical Signs Assessed by Manual Segmental Examination and Findings of the Lumbar Facet Joints in Magnetic-resonance Scans in Subjects With and Without Current Low Back - a Prospective Single-blinded Study

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01628939

Enrollment

150

Registered

2012-06-27

Start date

2009-06-30

Completion date

2009-11-30

Last updated

2012-06-27

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Facet Joint Pain, Low Back Pain

Keywords

low back pain, facet joint pain

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to determine 1. the prevalence of lumbar facet joint pain detected by manual segmental provocation tests 2. the prevalence of MRI findings of the lumbar facet joints (hypertrophy, effusion, edema) 3. the association of lumbar facet joint pain and MRI findings on a segmental level in subjects with current low back pain and in a control group.

Interventions

OTHERMRI of the lumbar spine

standard protocol, approximately 30 minutes

OTHERmanual segmental examination of the lumbar facet joints

use of three different segmental facet joint provocation tests (spinal palpation, segmental rotation and springing-test) from Th12-L1 to L5-S1

Study design

Observational model

CASE_CONTROL

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

for both study groups: * age \> 18 * written informed consent * ability to perform required examinations Inclusion Criterion for current low back pain-group: \- more than (\>=) 30 days of low back pain in the last three months Inclusion Criterion for control group: \- less than 30 days of low back pain in the last three months

Exclusion criteria

for both study groups: * acute radicular low back pain in the last three months * claustrophobia * spondylodesis of the lumbar spine * any metallic implants which are not MRI-compatible

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Number of facet joints per person which show facet joint pain and FJ effusion and/ or edema	2 hours	association of facet joint pain and MRI facet joint findings is determined

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
number of painful facet joints per person	2 hours	prevalence of facet joint pain assessed by manual segmental provocation tests
number of facet joints diagnosed with facet joint effusion and/ or edema per person	2 hours	prevalence of facet joint findings in the lumbar spine assessed by MRI (facet joint effusion and/ or facet joint edema)

Countries

Germany

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026