Effect of menopause on lumbar disk degeneration: potential etiology.

Lumbar spine disk degeneration is a common musculoskeletal condition, the prevalence of which increases with age (1-3). Disk degeneration can progress to disk herniation, spinal canal stenosis, and, in conjunction with facet joint arthrosis, degenerative spondylolisthesis. It remains not fully understood what factors initiate and influence the progression of disk degeneration. Nevertheless, there is general agreement that spinal mechanical stress accelerates the development of disk degeneration and increases the likelihood of disk herniation (4-6). Increasing evidence suggests that sex hormones also influence the severity of disk degeneration. © RSNA, 2010.