Abstract
Introduction: Facet joint arthropathy is one of the myriad of abnormalities for low back pain and since conventional Magnetic resonance Imaging detects the facet joint pathologies poorly when compared to fat suppressed MRI sequences, fat suppressed MRI promises to be contributory to proper diagnosis and management.
 Objective: The objective of this study was to find the prevalence of lumbar facet joint arthrosis among patients with low back pain and comparing conventional versus fat saturated sequence in detecting the MRI findings of facet joint arthrosis.
 Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted at the Department of Radiodiagnosis and Department of Orthopedics at Birat Medical College Teaching Hospital from February 15, 2020 to May 15, 2020. Ethical clearance was taken and 100 participants having low back pain were enrolled for Magnetic Resonance imaging after informed consent. Data were
 Results: 57% study participants were found to have facet joint arthrosis (FJA) in their lumbar spine and on comparing the detection rate of the grades of arthrosis between the conventional and FS MRI, the difference in diagnosis of grade 2 and grade 3 changes of FJA were 87.9% and 42.9% respectively whereas no difference was found in diagnosing grade 4 changes in both the sequences. Data was entered in MS excel and analysed by SPSS.
 Conclusion: This study showed that facet joint arthrosis is frequently seen in the patients presenting with low back pain and these changes are better diagnosed by fat saturated MRI sequence as compared to conventional sequence.
Highlights
Low back pain (LBP) is a condi on of global concern and is the most common cause of years lived with disability.[1]
57% study par cipants were found to have facet joint arthrosis (FJA) in their lumbar spine and on comparing the detec on rate of the grades of arthrosis between the conven onal and Fat saturated MRI (FS MRI), the difference in diagnosis of grade 2 and grade 3 changes of FJA were 87.9% and 42.9% respec vely whereas no difference was found in diagnosing grade 4 changes in both the sequences.Data was entered in MS excel and analysed by SPSS
60.1 million disability-adjusted life-years were due to low back pain in 2015, which increased by 54% since 1990. 2According to Global Burden of Disease data, low back pain is the number one cause of disability in Nepal; since 2005 the number of years lived with disability due to low back pain in Nepal increased by 16.9%. 3Pathologies of the lumbar intervertebral discs, lumbar facet joints (LFJs) and the sacroiliac joints are poten al sources of chronic LBP.[4, 5]
Summary
Low back pain (LBP) is a condi on of global concern and is the most common cause of years lived with disability.[1]. The objec ve of this study is to find the prevalence of lumbar facet joint arthrosis among pa ents with low back pain and compare conven onal versus fat saturated sequences in detec ng the MRI findings of facet joint arthrosis
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