Spine & Arthritis · NEET PG Preparation Orthopaedics
A 65-year-old female presents with severe low back pain radiating down the right posterior leg that worsens with walking and standing, and improves s…
Practice question from Spine & Arthritis (NEET PG Preparation Orthopaedics), with the correct answer and a step-by-step solution.
medium · MCQ · Q-E8DDCC
A 65-year-old female presents with severe low back pain radiating down the right posterior leg that worsens with walking and standing, and improves significantly with sitting or forward lumbar flexion. Imaging reveals degenerative facet hypertrophy and ligamentum flavum thickening causing spinal canal stenosis. What is the pathognomonic term for this symptom complex?
- A.Neurogenic claudicationCorrect answer
- B.Vascular claudication
- C.Cauda equina syndrome
- D.Arachnoiditis ossificans
Solution
Neurogenic claudication is the hallmark of lumbar spinal stenosis. It is characterized by pain, numbness, or weakness in the legs provoked by lumbar extension (standing/walking) and relieved by lumbar flexion (sitting, bending forward), which enlarges the spinal canal.
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