Analysis of factors influencing ligamentum flavum thickness in lumbar spine - A radiological study of 1070 disc levels in 214 patients

•Higher Pfirrmann’s grade may lead to ligamentum flavum hypertrophy from L1-L2 to L4-L5 levels.•Decreased anterior disc height may lead to ligamentum flavum hypertrophy from L1-L2 to L4-L5 levels.•Statistically significant correlation exists between facet tropism and Ligamentum Flavum thickness at L5-S1 level.•Early identification of these parameters in patients with back pain can prevent the progression of degeneration cascade. The pathomechanism and factors influencing hypertrophy of the Ligamentum flavum in the lumbar spine still requires a confident specificity. We aimed to analyse the association between various factors and Ligamentum Flavum Thickness (LFT) and also to investigate the major contributor for Ligamentum Flavum Hypertrophy (LFH) at various levels in the lumbar spine. The following were evaluated at L1-L2,L2-L3,L3-L4,L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels in MRI of 1070 lumbar disc levels of 214 subjects: Pfirrmann’s grade of the disc, anterior and posterior disc height, disc volume, facet tropism and LFT. LFT > 0.4 cm was considered as hypertrophy.Correlation between LFT and other parameters was done and values with p