Background:
Congenital stenosis of the cervical spine is an under-characterized entity with potential clinical relevance for young adults experiencing symptoms such as chronic headaches, neck pain, and neurological complaints. While acquired lumbar and cervical stenosis have established classification systems and management guidelines, a similar framework is lacking for congenital cervical narrowing despite a hypothesized link to acute and long-term neurologic outcomes.

Objective:
To establish a normative morphometric database of the cervical spine in young adults and identify demographic and radiologic correlates of congenital cervical stenosis and its associated symptomatology.

Methods:
This is a single-center, retrospective study analyzing cervical spine MRI data and medical records from up to 5,000 patients aged 18–30 with reportedly normal cervical imaging from a 15-year span. Patients with prior spine surgery, neoplasm, congenital anomalies, or demyelinating disease were excluded. Measurements included anterior-posterior thecal sac and spinal cord diameters, canal-to-cord ratios, and other measurements characterizing spinal lordosis and basilar invagination. Demographics and neurological symptom history were also collected. Statistical analyses (Chi-square, T-tests, correlation analysis) were performed using SPSS v29.0.

Results:

Preliminary data collection and analysis of ~70 patients is ongoing (will have to update the abstract).

The research team hypothesizes spinal canal measurements will indicate an intrathecal spinal cord/cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) space ratio that is normalized across gender, height, and weight. We also expect to show trends between the anterior-posterior thecal sac diameter and how these measurements and ratios correlate with various demographic datapoints. We hypothesize that measurements of the spinal lordosis (albeit non-physiological due to supine positioning) may associate with the degree of narrowing of the spinal canal at certain level.

Conclusions:
This study provides a normative database for cervical spinal canal measurements in anatomically “normal” young adults as a foundation for a novel classification system of congenital cervical stenosis. This may improve early diagnosis, radiologic reporting, and future risk stratification for degenerative cervical disease and surgical planning.