Spondylolisthesis
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Spondylolisthesis
Symptoms
Back pain is one of the most common symptoms of spondylolisthesis although the condition might be asymptomatic for some people. Some of the other possible symptoms of spondylolisthesis include:
- Pain in the lower back that intensifies when upright and reduces while lying down.
- Excessive curvature of the spine.
- A change in posture and gait caused by the tightening of the hamstrings which can become a waddle in severe cases.
- Pain that intensifies during coughing or sneezing bouts Numbness or tingling that radiates from the back to the legs.
- A tendency to lean forward.
- Intermittent shooting pain that passes from the buttocks down to the legs.
Causes
- Wearing down of the vertebrae along with joint remodelling (degenerative spondylolisthesis).
- Repetitive trauma to the spine, especially common in weightlifters.
- Sudden trauma to the spine can cause a vertebra to slide out of place (traumatic spondylolisthesis).
- Weakness in the ligamenta flava – the ligaments that form the posterior (back) wall of the spinal canal.
- Birth defects that cause abnormalities in one or more vertebrae.
