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Disc degeneration in scheuermann disease

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Abstract

Comparison of the radiographic signs of Scheuermann disease and the corresponding disc degeneration on thoracolumbar magnetic resonance (MR) images was made in 21 young patients. Marginal sclerosis, Schmorl nodes and narrowed disc spaces, but not irregular or wedge-shaped end-plates, were significantly associated with disc degeneration. Fifty-five percent of the discs in the patients with Scheuermann disease were abnormal on MRI, compared with 10% in asymptomatic controls. Our study confirms that thoracolumbar disc degeneration is enhanced in 20-year-old patients with low back pain who have radiological evidence of Scheuermann disease.

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Paajanen, H., Alanen, A., Erkintalo, M. et al. Disc degeneration in scheuermann disease. Skeletal Radiol 18, 523–526 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00351753

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