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. 2021 Mar 11:24:222-226.
doi: 10.1016/j.jor.2021.03.005. eCollection 2021 Mar-Apr.

Kinetic changes in the spinal cord occupation rate of dural sac in cervical spondylotic myelopathy

Masaaki Machino  1 , Keigo Ito  2 , Fumihiko Kato  2 , Kei Ando  1 , Kazuyoshi Kobayashi  1 , Hiroaki Nakashima  1 , Shunsuke Kanbara  1 , Sadayuki Ito  1 , Taro Inoue  1 , Hiroyuki Koshimizu  1 , Shiro Imagama  1
Affiliations

Kinetic changes in the spinal cord occupation rate of dural sac in cervical spondylotic myelopathy

Masaaki Machino et al. J Orthop. .

Abstract

Objective: The study aimed to establish the spinal cord occupation rate of the dural sac during flexion and extension.

Methods: We measured the cross-sectional area of the dural sac and the spinal cord between C2/C3 and C7/T1 disc levels in 100 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy and 1211 asymptomatic subjects.

Results: The spinal cord occupation rate of the dural sac in the cross-sectional area was higher on extension than on flexion at the mid-lower cervical spine.

Conclusions: The spinal cord occupation rate of the dural sac in the cross-sectional area was highest at the C4/C5 and C5/C6 levels on extension.

Keywords: Asymptomatic subjects; Cervical spondylotic myelopathy; Dural sac; Kinetic change; Occupation rate; Spinal cord.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The neck posture during flexion and extension under computed tomography. Flexion: higher pillow supporting the posterior head was used. Extension: shoulder pillow was used.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Computed tomography images in the axial plane following myelography. a: Anteroposterior diameter of the dural sac. b: Anteroposterior diameter of the spinal cord. c: Cross-sectional area of the dural sac. d: Cross-sectional area of the spinal cord.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The spinal cord occupation rate of the dural sac in the anteroposterior diameter on flexion and extension. The spinal cord occupation rate was significantly lower on extension than on flexion at the C3/C4 and C4/C5 levels. Conversely, it was significantly lower on flexion than on extension at the C6/C7 level. ***p < 0.0001, *p < 0.05.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The spinal cord occupation rate of the dural sac in the cross-sectional area on flexion and extension. The spinal cord occupation rate was significantly lower on extension than on flexion at the C2/C3 and C3/C4 levels. Conversely, it was significantly lower on flexion than on extension from the C4/C5 level to the C6/C7 level. ***p < 0.0001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.
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