Relevance of Lumbar Subcutaneous Edema and Local Lordosis

Lumbar subcutaneous edema (LSE) is sometimes found within the deep subcutaneous or perifascial tissue on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) via short-tau inversion recovery or fat-suppressed T2-weighted imaging. It is more likely to occur in older patients and those with obesity. However, no studies have focused on the association between LSE and local alignment. Therefore, the present study aimed to elucidate such an association. This retrospective study included 111 adult symptomatic patients who underwent lumbar plain MRI in a single institution. Patient demographics and the radiographical characteristics of the LSE and non-LSE groups were analyzed. LSE was detected in 30 (27.0%) patients. The L1-S1 angle was significantly lower in the LSE group (P = 0.033), whereas the sacral slope was not different between the groups (P > 0.05). As previously reported, the patients in the LSE group were older (P < 0.001) and had lower body weight (P = 0.015). This study demonstrates that older age and age-related hypolordosis were associated with a significantly higher frequency of LSE.