ReviewOrthopedic reviews2021
A Comprehensive Update of the Treatment and Management of Bertolotti's Syndrome: A Best Practices Review.
Review in Orthopedic reviews, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Bertolotti Syndrome in the Pediatric Population: A Literature Review and Management Algorithm.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2025Pooled it
- [Bertolotti syndrome: an often overlooked cause of specific back pain].Orthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2025Pooled it
- Iliac crest pseudoarticulation with the lumbar transverse process: Two cases, imaging considerations, and injection outcomes.Interventional pain medicine · 2026Article
- Use of Lumbosacral Myofascial Release and Therapeutic Exercises for a Patient with Bertolotti's Syndrome: A Case Report.Journal of orthopaedic case reports · 2026Article
- A Narrative Review of Bertolotti's Syndrome: Etiology, Classification, Diagnosis, and Treatment.Cureus · 2026Review
- Two-level fusion for Bertolotti syndrome and concomitant adjacent segment disease: patient series.Journal of neurosurgery. Case lessons · 2026Article
- Septic Arthritis: A Very Uncommon but Remarkable Complication Revealing Bertolotti Syndrome in a Child.Case reports in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Unilateral biportal endoscopic spinal surgery for the treatment of Bertolotti syndrome in an adolescent, a case report.Frontiers in surgery · 2026Article
- Intraoperative 3D Navigation-Guided Resection of Enlarged Transverse Process for Treating Bertolotti Syndrome Unresponsive to Noninvasive Treatments: Case Report.Clinical case reports · 2025Article
- Unique Use of Posterior Sacroiliac Joint Fusion for Pain Relief in Bertolotti Syndrome.Clinical case reports · 2025Article
- A CASE REPORT OF BERTOLOTTI SYNDROME INCIDENTALLY COEXISTING IN A 12 YEAR MALE WITH HISTORY OF PERINEAL BONE TRAUMA.Annals of Ibadan postgraduate medicine · 2025Article
- Bertolotti Syndrome: Surgical Treatment in a Middle-Aged Triathlete-A Case Report.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Case Report: SPECT-CT-guided minimally invasive transverse process resection for Bertolotti syndrome.Frontiers in surgery · 2025Article
- Physiotherapy management strategies for chronic pain control in patients with lumbosacral transitional vertebrae and low back pain: a review of the literature.Reumatologia · 2025Review
- Investigating biomechanical differences in lumbosacral transitional vertebrae among different Castellvi classifications.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Article
- Techniques in medicine: ipsilateral transforaminal epidural steroid injection in Bertolotti's syndrome.Pain management · 2024Article
- 3D-Printed Spine Models for Planning Staged Minimally Invasive Transverse Process Resections for Bertolotti Syndrome: Technical Note.Journal of orthopaedic case reports · 2024Article
- An update on the prevalence and management of Bertolotti's syndrome.Frontiers in surgery · 2024Review
- Assessment and nonsurgical management of low back pain: a narrative review.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 7 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Bertolotti's Syndrome is defined as chronic back pain caused by transitional lumbosacral vertebra. The transitional vertebra may present with numerous clinical manifestations leading to a myriad of associated pain types. The most common is pain in the sacroiliac joint, groin, and hip region and may or may not be associated with radiculopathy. Diagnosis is made through a combination of clinical presentations and imaging studies and falls into one of four types. The incidence of transitional vertebra has a reported incidence between 4 and 36%; however, Bertolotti's Syndrome is only diagnosed when the cause of pain is attributed to this transitional anatomy. Therefore, the actual incidence is difficult to determine. Initial management with conservative treatment includes medical management and physical therapy. Injection therapy has been established as an effective second line. Epidural steroid injection at the level of the transitional articulation is effective, with either local anesthetics alone or in combination with steroids. Surgery carries higher risks and is reserved for patients failing previous lines of treatment. Options include surgical removal of the transitional segment, decompression of stenosed foramina, and spinal fusion. Recent evidence suggests that radiofrequency ablation (RFA) around the transitional segment may also provide relief. This manuscript is a comprehensive review of the literature related to Bertolotti's Syndrome. It describes the background, including epidemiology, pathophysiology, and etiology of the Syndrome, and presents the best evidence available regarding management options. Bertolotti's Syndrome is considered an uncommon cause of chronic back pain, though the actual incidence is unclear. Most evidence supporting these therapies is of lower-level evidence with small cohorts, and more extensive studies are required to provide strong evidence supporting best practices.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.