Does the correlation between schmorl's nodes and vertebral morphology extend into the lumbar spine?

Abstract

This is the accepted version of the following article: Plomp, K., Roberts, C. and Strand Vidarsdottir, U. (2015), Does the correlation between schmorl's nodes and vertebral morphology extend into the lumbar spine?. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 157(3): 526-534, which has been published in nal form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.22730. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.Additional information: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. Schmorl's nodes are depressions on vertebrae due to herniation of the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc into the vertebral body. This study provides an extension of our previous study which analyzed the shape of the lower thoracic spine and found that vertebral morphology was associated with the presence of Schmorl's nodes. Ninety adult individuals from the late Medieval site of Fishergate House, York, and the Post-Medieval site of Coach Lane, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, England, were analysed using 2D geometric morphometrics to identify possible relationships between vertebral morphology and Schmorl's nodes at the thoraco-lumbar junction and in the lumbar spine. A significant correlation was found between vertebral shape and the presence of Schmorl's nodes in twelfth thoracic vertebrae and lumbar vertebrae 1-3. The findings corroborate previous findings and suggest that vertebral shape may be an important factor in spinal health and it is hypothesized that the pedicle shape of affected vertebrae may not provide adequate structural support for the vertebral bodies, resulting in vertical disc herniation.

High stature and body mass might affect the occurrence of Schmorl’s nodes

“…Authors hypothesize that the greater the stature the higher the vertebral bodies and, hence, the lower the ratio of intervertebral discs to vertebral bodies. These two factors increase the risk of Schmorl's nodes formation, according to Plomp et al (2015) and Dar et al (2010).…”

“…Another interesting hypothesis is proposed by Plomp et al (2012Plomp et al ( , 2015, who claimed that shape and size of vertebral body, size of neural foramen, and shape of the superior articular facets and pedicles are correlated not only with the mere presence, but also with severity of SN (Plomp et al 2012(Plomp et al , 2015.…”

“…The researchers found no correlation between SN and stature, body mass, BMI indicator or high physical load (Sonne-Holm et al 2013). Plomp et al (2015) investigated the influence of stature on Schmorl's nodes. They did not find differences in body height between individuals who did or did not display pathological changes (Plomp et al 2015).…”

“…Plomp et al (2015) investigated the influence of stature on Schmorl's nodes. They did not find differences in body height between individuals who did or did not display pathological changes (Plomp et al 2015).…”

“…The main aim of the current work is to determine whether greater stature and body mass increase the risk of Schmorl's nodes, and to reavaluate the results obtained by Sonne-Holm et al (Sonne-Holm et al 2013) and Plomp et al (Plomp et al 2015), through application of a different methodological approach. The secondary objective is to investigate differences in the prevalence of SN between the upper and the lower vertebral body surfaces.…”