Evaluation of Morphological Patterns of Lumbar Disc Herniation on MRI and Their Clinical Correlation with Sedentary Occupations and Lifestyle Risk Factors
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Abstract
Background: Lumbar disc herniation is a common cause of low back pain and radicular symptoms, and magnetic resonance imaging is the preferred modality for assessing disc morphology, level involvement, and nerve root compression. Sedentary lifestyle and prolonged sitting may contribute to lumbar spine loading, but imaging findings require careful clinical correlation. Objective: To evaluate MRI-based morphological patterns of lumbar disc herniation and their clinical association with sciatica, nerve root compression, disc level involvement, and sitting-duration category among symptomatic adults with sedentary lifestyle. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted at Lahore General Hospital over 90 days and included 69 adults aged 22–60 years referred for lumbar spine MRI because of low back pain with or without radicular symptoms. Demographic, occupational, lifestyle, clinical, and MRI variables were analyzed using SPSS version 27. Categorical variables were summarized as frequencies and percentages, and associations between clinical and imaging variables were assessed with inferential testing where appropriate. Results: The mean age was 37.87 ± 9.05 years, and 36 participants (52.2%) were female. Disc bulge was present in 55 participants (79.7%), disc protrusion in 25 (36.2%), and no extrusion or sequestration was observed. L4–L5 and L5–S1 were the most frequently involved levels. Sciatica was strongly associated with nerve root compression (p < 0.001) and disc protrusion (OR ≈ 5.51; 95% CI 1.87–16.21; p = 0.001). Participants with disc protrusion had a higher sitting-duration category index than those without protrusion (2.24 ± 0.97 vs 1.77 ± 0.89; p = 0.046). Conclusion: Disc bulge and protrusion were the predominant MRI findings, with lower lumbar levels most frequently affected. MRI-detected disc protrusion and nerve root compression correlated meaningfully with sciatica, supporting the importance of clinical-imaging correlation in symptomatic sedentary adults.
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