Comparative analysis of subjective symptoms in lumbar canal stenosis and in peripheral arterial disease: findings from a large-scale survey

Abstract

We analyzed subjective symptoms in patients with lumbar canal stenosis (LCS) compared to those in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) reported in a large-scale survey of 4,750 patients treated at 218 hospitals between July 2004 and August 2005. Symptoms included pain or numbness in the lower-back and legs. Among patients aged between 50 and 79 years, 329 patients were diagnosed as having LCS based on lumbar MRI (LCS Group), and 64 were diagnosed as having PAD based on ABI (ankle-brachial pressure index) testing and/or foot pulses (PAD Group). Subjective symptoms were more severe in the LCS Group than in the PAD Group. Postural factors, in which the symptoms increased with flexion and/or decreased with extension, were reported in 50.9% of the LCS Group, in 18.2% of the PAD Group.