Table 5.

Nine subscales for scoring the severity of degenerative changes in the lumbar spine on imaging studies.

1. Degeneration: assign a value 0 to 3 at each level
None	0
Dark disc on T2 MRI	1
End plate edema on T2 MRI	2
End plate sclerosis	3
2. Height loss: assign a value 0 to 3 at each level
None	0
Yes, < 50%	1
Yes, > 50%, but not ankylosis	2
Yes, ankylosis	3
3. Osteophytes: assign a value 0 to 3 at each level
None	0
Yes, < 2 mm	1
Yes, > 2 mm but not bridging	2
Yes, bridging	3
4. Herniation: assign a value 0 to 4 at each level
None	0
Bulge	1
Protrusion	2
Extrusion	3
Sequestered	4
5. Stenosis: assign the total score 0 to 6 for each level
Right foramen	0 or 1	Value for stenosis is the sum of these components or 6 if there is complete block.
Left foramen	0 or 1
Right lateral recess	0 or 1
Left lateral recess	0 or 1
Central stenosis	0 or 1
Complete block	6
6. Listhesis: assign a value 0 to 5 for each level
None, <10%	0
Grade 1, 10 to 25%	1
Grade 2, 26 to 50%	2
Grade 3, 51 to 75%	3
Grade 4, 76 to 100%	4
Grade 5, > 100%	5
7. Instability: assign an instability score 0 to 3 for each level
No instability	0
Mild instability	1
Moderate instability	2
Severe instability	3
8. Scoliosis and 9. Kyphosis: specify total magnitude 0 to 6 for each patient
<10 degrees	0
11 to 19 degrees	1
20 to 29 degrees	2
30 to 39 degrees	3
40 to 49 degrees	4
50 to 59 degrees	5
> 60 degrees	6