Cervical facet joint degeneration, facet joint angle, and paraspinal muscle degeneration are correlated with degenerative cervical spondylolisthesis at C4/5: a propensity score-matched study

Prior studies have hypothesized that degenerative cervical spondylolisthesis (DCS) may be influenced by loss of stability due to disc, facet joint or cervical alignment. Meanwhile, it is commonly believed that the facet joints and paraspinal muscles participate in maintaining cervical spine stability. However, the impact of paraspinal muscle morphology and detailed facet joint features on DCS requires further investigation.