ArticlePloS one2017
The associations between magnetic resonance imaging findings and low back pain: A 10-year longitudinal analysis.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of [European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging · 2026Trial
- The catastrophization effects of an MRI report on the patient and surgeon and the benefits of 'clinical reporting': results from an RCT and blinded trials.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 · 2021Trial
- Relationship of disc degeneration after pubertal growth spurt to future low back pain: a longitudinal cohort study.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
- A Primer on Anatomy, Biophysics, Pathology, Imaging and Treatment of the Intervertebral Disc and the Anterior Spinal Column: The Discogenic, Intervertebral, Spinal Column (DISC) ASPN Workgroup.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Association between MRI measurements of lumbar spine alterations and self-reported outcomes of pain and disability in subjects with non-specific low back pain.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 · 2024Article
- Spinal degeneration and lumbar multifidus muscle quality may independently affect clinical outcomes in patients conservatively managed for low back or leg pain.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Validation and Estimation of Obesity-Induced Intervertebral Disc Degeneration through Subject-Specific Finite Element Modelling of Functional Spinal Units.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Testing the Posterior Chain: Diagnostic Accuracy of the Bunkie Test versus the Isokinetic Hamstrings/Quadriceps Measurement in Patients with Self-Reported Knee Pain and Healthy Controls.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Predictive value of texture analysis on lumbar MRI in patients with chronic low back pain.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 · 2023Observational
- In vivo intervertebral disc mechanical deformation following a treadmill walking "stress test" is inversely related to T1rho relaxation time.Osteoarthritis and cartilage · 2023Article
- Real-world study for identifying the predictive factors of surgical intervention and the value of magnetic resonance imaging in patients with low back pain.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2022Article
- Unraveling Negative Expectations and Nocebo-Related Effects in Musculoskeletal Pain.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Patients' use of physical therapy for lower back pain: A qualitative study.Musculoskeletal science & practice · 2021Article
- Increasing BMI increases lumbar intervertebral disc deformation following a treadmill walking stress test.Journal of biomechanics · 2021Article
- Serum biomarkers for Modic changes in patients with chronic low back pain.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 · 2021Article
- Accurate prediction of lumbar microdecompression level with an automated MRI grading system.Skeletal radiology · 2021Article
- An exploratory study of different definitions and thresholds for lumbar disc degeneration assessed by MRI and their associations with low back pain using data from a cohort study of a general population.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2020Article
- Core stability and low-back pain: a causal fallacy.Journal of exercise rehabilitation · 2019Article
- [Changes in shape and signal intensity of high intensity zone in lumbar intervertebral discs on magnetic resonance images: a longitudinal study].Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University · 2018Article
- Magnetic resonance imaging findings of the lumbar spine, back symptoms and physical function among male adult patients with Scheuermann's disease.Journal of orthopaedicsArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo conduct a 10-year longitudinal analysis of the relationship between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and low back pain (LBP). MATERIALS AND
methodsNinety-one volunteers with a history of LBP, but without current LBP were recruited between 2005 and 2006. Participants' baseline demographics and MRI findings were recorded. All volunteers were invited for a follow-up MRI in 2016; of these, 49 volunteers (53.8%) participated in the follow-up. We enquired whether they had LBP history during the 10 years between the baseline and follow-up examinations. Sagittal T1 and T2-weighted MRI were used to assess the intervertebral space from T12/L1 to L5/S1. We evaluated the presence of disc degeneration by Pfirrmann's grading system, disc bulging, high intensity zone (HIZ), spondylolisthesis, and any type of Modic changes in the follow-up MRIs. We compared the follow-up MRI findings with the baseline findings; the progress of each finding over the 10 years were also compared between the groups with (n = 36) and without (n = 13) LBP.
resultsAverage age of the study participants at follow-up was 44.8 years; 25 were female and 24 were male. Average age, sex, body mass index, and smoking habits of those who did and did not participate in the follow-up study, as well as the demographic characteristics of those who did and did not have LBP history during the 10 years, were not significantly different. Compared with the group without LBP history, the group that had LBP history during the 10 years did not have a significantly increased prevalence of disc degeneration, disc bulging, and HIZ in the follow-up and baseline MRIs. Spondylolisthesis and any type of Modic changes were also not associated with LBP history during the 10 years.
conclusionsFollow-up MRI findings consistent with Pfirrmann grading ≥4, disc bulging, HIZ, spondylolisthesis, and any type of Modic changes were not associated with LBP history during the 10 years between the baseline and follow-up study. The progresses of these findings were also not associated with the LBP history. In addition, baseline MRI findings were not associated with LBP history during the 10 years; therefore, our data suggest that baseline MRI findings cannot predict future LBP.
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.