Table 5 Nine subscales for scoring the severity of degenerative changes in the lumbar spine on imaging studies.

1. Degeneration: assign a value 0 to 3 at each level

None

0

Dark disc on T2 MRI

1

End plate edema on T2 MRI

2

End plate sclerosis

3

2. Height loss: assign a value 0 to 3 at each level

None

0

Yes, < 50%

1

Yes, > 50%, but not ankylosis

2

Yes, ankylosis

3

3. Osteophytes: assign a value 0 to 3 at each level

None

0

Yes, < 2 mm

1

Yes, > 2 mm but not bridging

2

Yes, bridging

3

4. Herniation: assign a value 0 to 4 at each level

None

0

Bulge

1

Protrusion

2

Extrusion

3

Sequestered

4

5. Stenosis: assign the total score 0 to 6 for each level

Right foramen

0 or 1

Value for stenosis is the sum of these components or 6 if there is complete block.

Left foramen

0 or 1

Right lateral recess

0 or 1

Left lateral recess

0 or 1

Central stenosis

0 or 1

Complete block

6

6. Listhesis: assign a value 0 to 5 for each level

None, <10%

0

Grade 1, 10 to 25%

1

Grade 2, 26 to 50%

2

Grade 3, 51 to 75%

3

Grade 4, 76 to 100%

4

Grade 5, > 100%

5

7. Instability: assign an instability score 0 to 3 for each level

No instability

0

Mild instability

1

Moderate instability

2

Severe instability

3

8. Scoliosis and 9. Kyphosis: specify total magnitude 0 to 6 for each patient

<10 degrees

0

11 to 19 degrees

1

20 to 29 degrees

2

30 to 39 degrees

3

40 to 49 degrees

4

50 to 59 degrees

5

> 60 degrees

6