Impact of Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities on Access to Interspinous Spacer for Treatment of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Nationwide Medicare Analysis.

Background: In mild to moderate lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) where conservative care treatments fail, minimally invasive treatments, such as interspinous spacers without decompression or fusion (ISD), may be appropriate. While previous studies have demonstrated racial and socioeconomic disparities in the surgical treatment of LSS, there are limited data on how those factors impact accessibility to these procedures. This study explored demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic differences in the use of ISD.