2019 Volume 13 Issue 1 Pages 5-31
Degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis is the disease that apophyseal joints from 1st to 5th shifted back and forth caused from abnormalities of intervertebral disk. It is found more often on 4th and 5th, from lumbar vertebrae becoming unstable due to aging, which causes the narrowing the spinal column canal and the compression of nerves. Symptoms are mainly back pain, lower limbs pain, and weight loss. Because it is often found in women after menopause, it is thought to be from the effects of female sex hormone and progression of osteoporosis, although details are not known for certain. The lumbar vertebra compression fracture is one of the spinal compression fractures which often occur at thoracolumbar transition of 11th, 12th dorsal and 1st lumbar vertebrae; it is symptomatic of bone fractures caused by external injury and/or weakness of vertebrae. The symptoms are severe back pains, so the time to be treated till healed, when even walking and/or tossing in the bed would be painful. In some cases, if the condition worsens, thinning of the lower limbs, pain and paralysis may occur and could be similar to herniated. There are lumbar vertebrae compression fractures which occurs more on senior and more female and dorsal vertebrae compression fractures which caused from osteoporosis for compression fractures. One out of three senior females older than 70 is indicated at risk. The subject is a female, age 71, who had an operation for degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis 3 years prior. She complained of back pain and numbness of legs and suffered compression fractures during the moving of her house furniture. We performed aroma treatment on the subject once a week pace in total for seven times, and observed the QOL progress by means of the KK scale method.
