Spondy –  latin for spine so these terms relate to the spine

• losis – a chronic problem – think of arthritis or degenerative changes 
• Lolysis a breaking – this denotes a fracture of the pars intraarticularis or a break in the bony hoola hoop that surrounds the spinal cord.
• LISTHESIS – sliding – think of this as you have bilateral pars defects so the front portion of the hoola hoop is now moving independently from the posterior portion. This allows the front to slide forward.
  • What does this cause? – can lead to disc herniation as the disc is stretched between two vertebral bodies that are no longer aligned
  • This can also lead to injury of the nerves as they exit through the foramen or transverse down the spinal canal.
  • Ultimately in the worst cases, this can cause spinal cord injury
  • Note the pain caused by nerve injury in this scenario would be radiculopathy 
  • Grading by quartile –
    • 1: 0-25%
    • 2: 26-50%
    • 3: 51-75%
    • 4:76-100%
    • 5 more for 100%+ – think SCI