Objective: To evaluate the association between low back pain and bone marrow edema in lumbosacral transitional vertebra (LSTV) transverse processes, and to assess the prevalence of LSTV in a physically active population.
Materials and methods: Individuals with LSTV on coronal MRI studies were identified in a retrospective review by keyword search from PACS. In total, 140 cases were reviewed by two fellowship-trained musculoskeletal radiologists. Data on associated low back pain were collected from patient records at the time of the imaging.
Results: Bone marrow edema was observed in 44% of the cases, but no correlation with low back pain was found. On coronal MRI, the prevalence of LSTV was 2.6%, with type II LSTV being the most common subtype.
Conclusions: No correlation with bone marrow edema at the transverse processes of the LSTV and low back pain was observed. In our selected study population, the prevalence of LSTV was low.
Keywords: Bone marrow edema; Low back pain; Lumbosacral transitional vertebra; Magnetic resonance imaging.