Lumbar Facet Arthrosis, Nerve Degeneration
Conditions
Brief summary
The purpose of the study is to understand the composition of the nerves supplying the facet joints in low back.
Detailed description
After written informed consent, the nerves supplying the facet joints - lumbar dorsal rami and its medial branches, will be harvested when they are exposed during spinal surgery. These nerves will be fixed, washed and further dissected to enable smaller sections. The cut section will be stained and subjected to analysis of overall cross-sectional area and presence of connective tissue sheaths under light microscope.
Interventions
PROCEDURESpinal surgery
In participants who undergo elective lumbar spinal surgery and consented for research, the medial branch and dorsal rami will be harvested for histological analysis.
OTHERHistology
The harvested nerves will be fixed, cut into smaller sections. Analysis of macroscopic and light microscopic sections will be carried out
Sponsors
University of Aberdeen
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Be aged 18 or over * be able to give informed consent * scheduled to undergo lumbar spinal surgery
Exclusion criteria
* Children under 18 years old * Vulnerable adults * Adults with incapacity * Inability to provide informed consent * History of previous spinal surgery * history of previous RF ablation for low back pain * has COVID-19 or displaying symptoms of COVID-19
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Nerve Histology | one year | Percentage of nerves containing more than 50% sensory fibres in lumbar dorsal rami/medial branches to assess whether they are sensory or motor nerves |
Countries
United Kingdom
Contacts
Primary ContactSaravanakumar Kanakarajan, MD FRCA
Outcome results
None listed