Laboratory Animal and Comparative Medicine ›› 2026, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (4): 541-552.DOI: 10.12300/j.issn.1674-5817.2025.131

• Animal Models of Human Diseases • Previous Articles    

Analysis of Animal Models of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Based on Clinical Characteristics of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine

HE Miao1, ZHANG Xuxing2, WU Gang1,2,3, ZHOU Yi1, RAO Hao2, HU Xiangyu3()   

  1. 1.School of Sports Medicine, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan 430079, China
    2.First Clinical College of Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430060, China
    3.Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hubei Provincial Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430061, China
  • Received:2025-08-05 Revised:2025-12-03 Online:2026-08-25 Published:2026-08-22
  • Correspondence to: HU Xiangyu

Abstract:

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a common disabling condition in the elderly, and its clinical assessment relies not only on imaging and neurofunctional indicators but also on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome differentiation. To evaluate the concordance between existing LSS animal models and clinical characteristics of TCM and Western medicine, clarify their advantages and limitations, and explore their translational potential, Chinese and English databases, including CNKI, Wanfang Data, PubMed, and Web of Science, are searched using combinations of the terms "lumbar spinal stenosis," "model," "guideline," "consensus," and "norm" from inception to the end of June 2025. After screening, a total of 21 publications are included, of which 15 report animal experimental studies, and 6 are guidelines, consensus statements, or normative documents. Based on these, the existing modeling methods are summarized, diagnostic indicators are extracted from clinical guidelines and expert consensus, and clinical concordance is evaluated using an assessment system proposed in the relevant literature. The results show that the existing animal models are categorized into three concordance levels: high (laminectomy/spinous process removal with filling; laminectomy/spinous process + ligament/muscle removal with filling; autologous bone backfilling), moderate (nylon tape dural binding method, adjustable screws, fixation combined with removal of ligament/muscle), and low (balloon compression method, adjustable balloon compression method, bipedal standing, ligament/muscle resection, steel wire cerclage method). Overall, current animal models of LSS generally perform well in terms of structural construction but show clear limitations in replicating clinical diagnostic logic and TCM syndromes. Future research should enhance syndrome phenotype collection and enrich TCM-based evaluation systems based on existing models. Additionally, multifactorial integrated modeling strategies should be introduced to extend the depth of syndrome-level simulation. This study aims to analyze LSS animal models that can faithfully recapitulate disease pathogenesis, conform to clinical realities of both Western medicine and TCM clinical practice, and have broad application potential, so as to narrow the translational gap between experimental findings and clinical practice.

Key words: Lumbar spinal stenosis, Diagnostic criteria, Disease and syndrome characteristics, Animal models, Clinical concordance, Traditional Chinese and Western medicine

CLC Number: