Spondylolisthesis signs and symptoms

A spondylolisthesis is when there is anterior displacement of the superior vertebra compared to the one directly inferior.  This puts pressure on the nerves leaving the spinal canal causing local pain and inflammation.  There are 6 different types of spondylolisthesis or spondylo’s for short, including: congenital, isthmic, degenerative, traumatic, pathological, and post surgical.  Congenital describes those which occur in children affecting the superior facet of S1.  Isthmic is the most common spondlyo affecting people ranging from children to roughly 50 year old adults.  This is sometimes seen in children who aggressively play sports like football, gymnastics, and diving.  Degenerative is the 2^nd most common and is seen in older individuals, most commonly affecting L4/L5.  Traumatic is seen in young patients and is a fracture of something other than the pars interarticularis.  A pathological spondylo can be seen in any age group and is due to a disease.  Lastly, post-surgical is due to resection of the arches/facets causing anterior displacement.

Signs/Symptoms and Treatment

More commonly, this condition causes extreme pain and sometimes pain down the posterior leg; however, many times these are asymptomatic and accidently found on x-ray looking for an un-related condition or complaint.  When nerve damage is evident, symptoms may include numbness and tingling in the posterior leg(s) and feet and muscle weakness resulting in affected gait patterns.  A chiropractor/medical physician will determine the level and severity of the Spondylolisthesis and implement a safe treatment program to treat the source.  Chiropractic works extremely well in reducing the spondylo and decreasing the signs and symptoms.  However, when the anterior displacement is extreme in nature, surgery may be necessary to prevent further nerve damage.