ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2016
Paraspinal muscle asymmetry and fat infiltration in patients with symptomatic disc herniation.
Article in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
71 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Automatability and validity of methods for the quantification of intra-/Intermuscular adipose tissue in conventional MRI: a systematic review.BMC medical imaging · 2025Pooled it
- Imaging Evaluation of Fat Infiltration in Paraspinal Muscles on MRI: A Systematic Review with a Focus on Methodology.Orthopaedic surgery · 2021Pooled it
- Relationships between paraspinal muscle morphology and neurocompressive conditions of the lumbar spine: a systematic review with meta-analysis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2018Pooled it
- Association Between Degeneration of the Paraspinal Muscles and Nerve Root Compression in Lumbar Disc Herniation Patients Who Underwent Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy.Orthopaedic surgery · 2026Article
- A novel multimodal AI-based radiomics approach for precision assessment of pain intensity in chronic nonspecific low back pain.Journal of orthopaedic translation · 2026Article
- Article
- Paravertebral muscle degeneration-guided selective fusion strategy for degenerative lumbar scoliosis: a novel approach to minimize surgical invasiveness while optimizing clinical outcomes.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Association between lumbar disc degeneration at L4-L5 level and atrophy of paraspinal muscles and gluteus medius: a cross-sectional study using 3T quantitative magnetic resonance imaging.BMC medical imaging · 2025Article
- Based on the mechanism of degeneration of the small joint - muscle - intervertebral disc complex and early intervention.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Article
- Isolated lumbar extension exercise alone or in a multimodal program for low back pain and radiculopathy: a non-randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Comparative Study of Lumbar Disc Prolapse Surgery With or Without Coagulation: A Report of 2,180 Cases.Cureus · 2025Article
- Paraspinal muscles and gluteus medius fat infiltration are both associated with lumbar disc herniation.Insights into imaging · 2025Article
- The Role of Adipokines in Spinal Disease: A Narrative Review.JOR spine · 2025Review
- Radiological frontiers in understanding paraspinal muscle pathophysiology in chronic low back pain.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
- Muscle fat infiltration: a narrative review of the magnetic resonance (MR)-based evaluation methods and their clinical applications.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2024Review
- The Impact of Changes in Paraspinal Muscle Tissue on Lumbar Percutaneous Intradiscal Radiofrequency Therapy.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Deep learning-based structure segmentation and intramuscular fat annotation on lumbar magnetic resonance imaging.JOR spine · 2024Article
- The Differences on the Fatty Infiltration of Paraspinal Muscles between Single- and Multiple-level Intervertebral Disc Degeneration in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation.Orthopaedic surgery · 2024Observational
- Relationship between paraspinal muscle properties and bone mineral density based on QCT in patients with lumbar disc herniation.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Relationship between paravertebral muscle degeneration and spinal-pelvic sagittal parameters in patients with lumbar disc herniation.Scientific reports · 2024Article
11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo investigate asymmetry in size and composition of the multifidus and erector spinae in patients with posterolateral disc herniation and concordant radicular symptoms, and determine whether symptom duration is associated with degree of asymmetry.
methodsThirty-three patients diagnosed with posterolateral disc herniation at L4-L5 verified on imaging and concordant leg pain were included. Multifidus and erector spinae cross-sectional area (CSA), functional cross-sectional area (FCSA, fat-free area), signal intensity and ratio of FCSA to total CSA were measured bilaterally from T 2-weighted axial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at L3-L4, L4-L5, L5-S1 and S1 levels.
resultsNo side-to-side differences in multifidus CSA, FCSA, and ratio of FCSA/CSA reached statistical significance at any spinal level. The multifidus signal intensity at L5-S1 was significantly greater (more fatty infiltration) on the side of the disc herniation. The erector spinae FCSA (lean muscle mass) at L5-S1 was found to be significantly smaller on the side of the herniation and the ratio of FCSA/CSA was smaller (more fatty infiltration) on the side of the herniation at L4-L5 and L5-S1. The degree of muscle asymmetry was not associated with symptoms duration.
conclusionsThere was no significant asymmetry of the multifidus at spinal level above, same or level below the disc herniation. Instead, variations in muscle composition were observed, with greater fat infiltration on the side and at spinal levels adjacent to the disc herniation. Muscle asymmetry was not correlated with symptom duration.
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Registered trials
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