The Muhle staging system is a classification system used to evaluate the severity of cervical canal stenosis.
The system was developed based on a study conducted by Muhle et al. who used kinematic MRI to assess the dynamic changes of the cervical spine in patients at different stages of degenerative disease 1. They described a classification system based on both static and dynamic factors in the pathogenesis of cervical spondylotic myelopathy.
The Muhle staging system comprises of five stages from 0 to 4:
stage 0: physiological alignment of the cervical spine
stage 1: disc herniation or protrusion without cord impingement on flexion and extension
stage 2: cervical spondylosis with anterior cord impingement on flexion and extension, without any posterior cord encroachment or pincer effect
stage 3: cervical spondylosis with restricted motion of the affected segment, along with anterior or posterior cord impingement and pincer effect
stage 4: cervical spondylotic myelopathy with anterior and/or posterior cord impingement and pincer effect at one or multiple levels, either adjacent or distant from the primarily affected segment
NB: The Kang grading system of cervical canal stenosis, which assesses the degree of cervical spinal cord compression, is based on the Muhle staging system 1.
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.