Sacral hiatus in relation to low back pain in south Indian population.

Objective: The study was designed to identify any association between the sacral hiatus of the dry sacral bones with that of patients with low back pain (LBP). The knowledge of the sacral hiatus is important in caudal epidural block (CEB).

Methods: Three hundred forty three (183 male and 160 female) complete and undamaged adult South Indian dry sacral bones and fifty two (30 male and 22 female) radiographs were included in the present study. The above radiographs were of patients with history of LBP. The osteological observation and the radiographic study were compared to find any associations of LBP with the location of the apex of the sacral hiatus.

Results: In dry male sacrum, in 39.3% cases the sacral hiatus was inverted U shape and in 50.6% cases the female sacrum was inverted V shape. Deficient dorsal wall of the sacrum was observed in 2.7% and 12.5% in male and female sacra, respectively. The apex of the sacral hiatus was observed the most at S4 level (81.4% in male and 61.2% in female). Deficient dorsal wall was found in 40% of male and 27.2% female patients presented with LBP. The apex of the sacral hiatus in the LBP patients observed at the S4 level was 46.6% in male and 54.5% in female respectively.

Conclusion: The patients with LBP had a higher percentage of deficient dorsal walls in comparison to the osteological findings (Fig. 12, Tab. 7, Ref. 12). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.