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Movements of the lumbo-sacral nerve roots in the spinal canal induced by straight leg raising test: an anatomical study

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Abstract

Purpose

The pain involved in the herniated discs could be generated by some mobility of the nerve roots during straight leg raising (SLR). SLR produces some movement of nerves, but the magnitude of this displacement needs to be thorough, that is why we have investigated lumbo-sacral nerve root displacement in the spinal canal during the passive straight leg raise (SLR).

Methods

Fourteen cadavers underwent laminectomy to mark the nerve roots of L2–S1 with lead balls. X-rays were taken during different movements imposed on the body: bilateral hip extension, left SLR then right and bilateral SLR. By superimposing these images two by two, the displacement of the nerve roots is quantified numerically during the various SLR maneuvers with respect to the reference position corresponding to the bilateral hip extension.

Results

The median range of the different nerve root movements ranged from 0.10 to 0.51 cm (p < 0.05 except for the L2 root) when the left SLR is applied, from 0.26 to 0.48 cm (p < 0.05) with the right SLR and from 0.30 to 0.65 cm (p < 0.05) with a bilateral SLR. No statistically significant relationship was found between age and movement value.

Conclusions

The lumbo-sacral nerve roots in the spinal canal region move statistically significantly in response to the clinically applied SLR test, except for L2 root during the left SLR. This movement is symmetric and greater when a bilateral SLR is applied. These anatomical results are correlated with those observed empirically in clinical practice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Anatomie Des Alpes Francaises (LADAF), Faculty of Medicine, UFR de Médecine de Grenoble, Grenoble Alpes University, Domaine de la Merci, 38706, La Tronche Cedex, France

    Alexandre Bellier, A. Latreche, L. Tissot, Y. Robert, P. Chaffanjon & O. Palombi

  2. Medical Evaluation Department, Grenoble Alpes University Hospital, Grenoble Cedex 9, France

    Alexandre Bellier

  3. Neurosurgery Department, Grenoble Alpes University Hospital, Grenoble Cedex 9, France

    O. Palombi

Authors
  1. Alexandre Bellier
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  2. A. Latreche
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  3. L. Tissot
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  4. Y. Robert
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  5. P. Chaffanjon
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  6. O. Palombi
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Contributions

AB: data analysis, manuscript writing, and manuscript editing; AL: data collection or management, and manuscript writing; LT: data collection or management, and manuscript writing; YR: manuscript writing and manuscript editing; PC: manuscript writing and manuscript editing; OP: protocol/project development and manuscript editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexandre Bellier.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Bellier, A., Latreche, A., Tissot, L. et al. Movements of the lumbo-sacral nerve roots in the spinal canal induced by straight leg raising test: an anatomical study. Surg Radiol Anat 40, 1223–1230 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-018-2084-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-018-2084-3

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