Degenerative Spine
A 68-year-old woman presents with a 2-year history of progressive bilateral leg pain and neurogenic claudication. She can walk approximately 100 meters before needing to stop and flex forward. She has minimal back pain. Examination shows mildly reduced power in L5 distribution bilaterally with normal reflexes. MRI reveals L4-5 degenerative spondylolisthesis with grade I slip and central canal stenosis. Conservative management for 6 months has failed. Regarding degenerative spondylolisthesis:
Mark each as TRUE or FALSE
Degenerative spondylolisthesis occurs due to facet joint and disc degeneration allowing forward slip...
Clinical presentation includes neurogenic claudication (leg pain with walking, relieved by sitting o...
Degenerative spondylolisthesis requires a pars defect; L5-S1 is the most common level; it is more co...
Conservative treatment (physical therapy, NSAIDs, epidural injections, activity modification) is fir...
Surgical options include decompression alone or decompression with fusion; the SLIP trial showed tha...
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Click T (True) or F (False) for each option