Prevalence of Cervical and Lumbar Stenosis and it’s Associated Risk Factors at Peshawar Medical Imaging Center, Peshawar

Abstract

Spinal stenosis is one of the most persistent diseases categorized by the abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal that results in pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots. The narrowing of the spinal canal is due to degenerative changes in spinal joints, intervertebral discs, disc herniation, and thickening of ligaments surrounding the spinal canal. Magnetic Resonance Imaging being high resolution images, ability to visualize soft tissues, multi- planar imaging capabilities, non-invasive nature and lack of radiation play a crucial role in identifying Spinal stenosis. A cross-sectional, single center study was conducted involving 330 MRI-scanned patients. Spinal stenosis diagnosis was based on standard radiological criteria. Data on demographics, medical history and physical activity were collected and analyzed for statistical significance. The prevalence of cervical was 17.5% (n=165) with lumbar region more predominant shown 47.8% (n=165), of participants were diagnosed with stenosis. Moderate stenosis was the most prevalent severity (14.8%), followed by mild (11.5%) and severe (6.4%) cases. Males (50.6%) were slightly more affected than females (49.4%). A large majority of participants (100.0%) reported back pain, most commonly of sub-acute duration (50.6%). Chi-square analysis showed significant associations of spinal stenosis with sedentary lifestyle (p = 0.021), physical activity (p =0.012), and diabetes (p = 0.014), while no significant association was found with BMI (p = 0.590). These results suggest that lumbar spinal stenosis of moderate severity is the most common presentation, with sedentary lifestyle, engaging regular physical inactivity, and diabetes being major contributory risk factors.