SynthesisBMC musculoskeletal disorders2018
Relationships between paraspinal muscle morphology and neurocompressive conditions of the lumbar spine: a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05190289 (The Relationship Between Paraspinal Muscle Degeneration and Bone Mass and Clinical Outcomes After Surgery in Patients With Lumbar Degenerative Diseases), which is not on this map. Cited by 51 papers, 3 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.
The Relationship Between Paraspinal Muscle Degeneration and Bone Mass and Clinical Outcomes After Surgery in Patients With Lumbar Degenerative Diseases
Who cites it
51 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 85 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
- The association between changes in multifidus muscle morphology and back pain scores following discectomy surgery for lumbar disc herniation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.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 · 2022Pooled it
- Imaging Evaluation of Fat Infiltration in Paraspinal Muscles on MRI: A Systematic Review with a Focus on Methodology.Orthopaedic surgery · 2021Pooled it
- A randomized controlled trial comparing different sites of high-velocity low amplitude thrust on sensorimotor integration parameters.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Does pre-operative psoas muscle cross-sectional area predict post-operative outcomes following lumbar spine fusion surgery?-a systematic review and narrative synthesis.Journal of spine surgery (Hong Kong) · 2026Review
- Electromyogram diagnosed chronic lumbar radiculopathy is highly associated with L4-S1 regional multifidus atrophy on magnetic resonance imaging.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- 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
- 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 of paraspinal and psoas muscle morphology with recurrent lumbar disc herniation: a retrospective case-control 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
- MuscleSCS: a standardized programming framework combining neural neuromodulation and spinally mediated paraspinal muscle modulation.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Multifidus fat infiltration negatively influences the postoperative outcomes in lumbar disc herniation following transforaminal approach percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy.European journal of medical research · 2025Article
- Radiological frontiers in understanding paraspinal muscle pathophysiology in chronic low back pain.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
- Vertebral bone quality score was associated with paraspinal muscles fat infiltration, but not modic classification in patients with chronic low back pain: a prospective cross-sectional study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Relationship between paraspinal muscle properties and bone mineral density based on QCT in patients with lumbar disc herniation.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Preoperative fatty infiltration of paraspinal muscles assessed by MRI is associated with less improvement of leg pain 2 years after surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis.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
- Effects of Paraspinal Intramuscular Injection of Atelocollagen in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Retrospective Observational Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Links among MRI features in paraspinal muscles, inflammatory processes, and related back pain in patients with lumbar disc herniation.JOR spine · 2024Article
- Relationship between paravertebral muscle degeneration and spinal-pelvic sagittal parameters in patients with lumbar disc herniation.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Advances in the interaction between lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration and fat infiltration of paraspinal muscles: critical summarization, classification, and perspectives.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Review
- Paravertebral Muscle Morphology in L4-L5 Disc Herniation: Insights from the Michigan State University Classification.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2023Article
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 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIndividual study results have demonstrated unclear relationships between neurocompressive disorders and paraspinal muscle morphology. This systematic review aimed to synthesize current evidence regarding the relationship lumbar neurocompressive disorders may have with lumbar paraspinal muscle morphology.
methodsSearches were conducted in seven databases from inception through October 2017. Observational studies with control or comparison groups comparing herniations, facet degeneration, or canal stenosis to changes in imaging or biopsy-identified lumbar paraspinal muscle morphology were included. Data extraction and risk of bias assessment were performed by review author pairs independent of one another. Morphological differences between individuals with and without neurocompressive disorders were compared qualitatively, and where possible, standardised mean differences were obtained.
resultsTwenty-eight studies were included. Lumbar multifidus fiber diameter was smaller on the side of and below herniation for type I [SMD: -0.40 (95% CI = -0.70, -0.09) and type II fibers [SMD: -0.38 (95% CI = -0.69, -0.06)] compared to the unaffected side. The distribution of type I fibers was greater on the herniation side [SMD: 0.43 (95% CI = 0.03, 0.82)]. Qualitatively, two studies assessing small angular fiber frequency and fiber type groupings demonstrated increases in these parameters below the herniation level. For diagnostic imaging meta-analyses, there were no consistent differences across the various assessment types for any paraspinal muscle groups when patients with herniation served as their own control. However, qualitative synthesis of between-group comparisons reported greater multifidus and erector spinae muscle atrophy or fat infiltration among patients with disc herniation and radiculopathy in four of six studies, and increased fatty infiltration in paraspinal muscles with higher grades of facet joint degeneration in four of five studies. Conflicting outcomes and variations in study methodology precluded a clear conclusion for canal stenosis.
conclusionsBased on mixed levels of risk of bias data, in patients with chronic radiculopathy, disc herniation and severe facet degeneration were associated with altered paraspinal muscle morphology at or below the pathology level. As the variability of study quality and heterogeneous approaches utilized to assess muscle morphology challenged comparison across studies, we provide recommendations to promote uniform measurement techniques for future studies.
trial registrationPROSPERO 2015: CRD42015012985.
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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.