Spondylolysis is a crack or stress fracture in the vertebrae (spine bone). It is usually caused by repeated stress on the lower back (e.g. weight lifting). Spondylolysis is usually asymptomatic (does not cause symptoms) but when symptoms do occur, low back pain is the most common presentation. The pain may spread across the lower back and/or radiate to the buttocks and to the back of the thighs, and may feel like a muscle strain. The pain is generally worse with vigorous exercise or activity and improves with rest.
Commonly known as a pinched nerve, radiculopathy is injury or damage to nerve roots at the level where they exit the spine. This can lead to symptoms of pain, numbness, tingling or weakness.
The spine consists of alternating spine bones (vertebrae) and cartilage discs. A Schmorl's node is an upward or downward pushing of the cartilage disc into the adjacent vertebrae. Schmorl's nodes are most common in the middle and lower spine. They usually cause no symptoms and reflect wear-and-tear of the spine that has occurred over time or could be due to trauma (e.g. car accident).
Sometimes during fetal development a vertebra (spine bone) does not fuse together properly, ending slightly wider than a normal vertebra and appearing like a “butterfly” on radiological imaging. This is a normal variant and not cancerous. “Butterfly” vertebra can make the affected area more prone to chronic back pain.
A vertebral compression deformity (fracture) describes vertical collapse of the spine bone. This is commonly caused by past trauma such as a car accident, sports injury or a hard fall. Symptoms of a subacute compression fracture include back pain, an increase in pain intensity while standing or walking as well as difficulty bending over or sitting.
Anterolisthesis (also known as spondylolisthesis) is a forward slipping of the vertebra (spinal bone) over the bone below it. A pars defect is a stress fracture of the pars interarticularis, a thin bone connecting two vertebrae. Pars defects are a common injury caused by wear-and-tear and are often seen in those involved in high-risk sports (e.g. gymnastics, football, wrestling, weight lifting).
