• Shunmin Wang and Jiangang Shi.
• Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Spine Center, Changzheng Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China; 910 Hospital of China Joint Logistics Support Force, Quanzhou City, People's Republic of China.
• World Neurosurg. 2024 Jul 1; 187: e598e609e598-e609.

PurposesTo propose a new lumbar degenerative staging system using the current radiological classification system.MethodsA cross-sectional analysis of retrospective databases between January 2018 and December 2022 was performed. Total of 410 patients for Modic changes, paravertebral muscle fat infiltration, disc degeneration, articular process degeneration, vertebral endplate degeneration and other structures, and disc displacement, Spondylolisthesis, and stenosis, and grouped patients according to stage were assessed. Visual analog scale, Japanese Orthopaedic Association, and Oswestry Disability Index scores were used to assess low back pain strength, neurological function, and quality of life, respectively.ResultsThe lumbar degeneration staging system consists of 8 variables, which can be divided into 3 steps: early, middle and late, and the correlation between each variable is strong (P < 0.05). The later the staging, the worse the Japanese Orthopaedic Association, visual analog scale, and Oswestry Disability Index scores.ConclusionsPatients with later stages have worse clinical scores. This staging system recommends a uniform classification to assess lumbar degeneration.Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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