ArticleArchives of physical medicine and rehabilitation2017
Multifidi Muscle Characteristics and Physical Function Among Older Adults With and Without Chronic Low Back Pain.
Article in Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 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
33 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 62 citations in OpenAlex.
- Paraspinal muscle quality in chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of muscle atrophy and fat infiltration.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 · 2026Pooled it
- Imaging Evaluation of Fat Infiltration in Paraspinal Muscles on MRI: A Systematic Review with a Focus on Methodology.Orthopaedic surgery · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of dynamic neuromuscular stabilization training on the core muscle contractility and standing postural control in patients with chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Trial
- Secondary analysis of change in physical function after exercise intervention in older adults with hyperkyphosis and low physical function.BMC geriatrics · 2021Trial
- PVMQ score: a novel imaging parameter for indicating lumbar degeneration and prognosis in patients with L4/5 degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis.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 · 2026Article
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Segmentation of Soft Tissue in the Diagnosis of Chronic Low Back Pain: A Scoping Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The effect of a multimodal exercise program on paraspinal muscle morphology and clinical outcomes in chronic low back pain.Isokinetics and exercise science · 2026Article
- The association of lumbar paraspinal muscle size and quality with physical function, disability, and pain in adults with chronic low back pain.JOSPT open · 2026Article
- Association between pain, physical performance, and kinesiophobia in older women with low back pain: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Clinical Characterization of Hip Subgroups in Geriatric Chronic Low Back Pain.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Article
- 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
- Fibro-adipogenic progenitors in physiological adipogenesis and intermuscular adipose tissue remodeling.Molecular aspects of medicine · 2024Review
- The Effects of Combined Motor Control and Isolated Extensor Strengthening versus General Exercise on Paraspinal Muscle Morphology, Composition, and Function in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Adults with lower-limb amputation: Reduced multifidi muscle activity and extensor muscle endurance is associated with worse physical performance.Clinical physiology and functional imaging · 2023Article
- Radiological Assessment of Postoperative Paraspinal Muscle Changes After Lumbar Interbody Fusion With or Without Minimally Invasive Techniques.Global spine journal · 2023Article
- Article
- Article
- Association between abdominal muscle activity and lumbar muscle morphology, and their role in the functional assessment of patients with low back pain: A cross-sectional study.Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions · 2022Article
- Aberrant Lumbopelvic Movements Predict Prospective Functional Decline in Older Adults with Chronic Low Back Pain.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo determine whether multifidi size, intramuscular fat, or both, are associated with self-reported and performance-based physical function in older adults with and without chronic low back pain (LBP).
designCase-control study.
settingIndividuals participated in a standardized evaluation in a clinical laboratory and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lumbar spine at a nearby facility.
participantsA volunteer sample of community-dwelling older adults (N=106), aged 60 to 85 years, with (n=57) and without (n=49) chronic LBP were included in this secondary data analysis.
interventionAverage right-left L5 multifidi relative (ie, total) cross-sectional area (CSA), muscle-fat infiltration index (MFI) (ie, a measure of intramuscular fat), and relative muscle CSA (rmCSA) (ie, total CSA minus intramuscular fat CSA) were determined from MRIs. Linear regression modeling was performed with physical function measures as the dependent variables. Age, sex, and body mass index were entered as covariates. The main effects of L5 multifidi MFI and rmCSA, as well as their interaction with group assignment, were compared as independent variables.
main outcome measuresMedical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey physical functioning subscale, timed Up and Go, gait speed, and fast stair descent performance.
resultsInteraction terms between L5 multifidi MFI and group assignment were found to be significant contributors to the variance explained in all physical function measures (P≤.012). Neither the main effect nor the interaction with group assignment for L5 multifidi rmCSA significantly contributed to the variance explained in any of the physical function measures (P>.012).
conclusionsAmong older adults with chronic LBP of at least moderate intensity, L5 multifidi muscle composition, but not size, may help to explain physical function.
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.