SynthesisEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2020
Does pre-operative multifidus morphology on MRI predict clinical outcomes in adults following surgical treatment for degenerative lumbar spine disease? A systematic review.
Synthesis 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, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 8 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
27 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Preoperative paraspinal muscle fatty infiltration and prognosis after lumbar discectomy for disc herniation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Pooled it
- Fatty infiltration predicts retear and functional impairment following rotator cuff repair: systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Pooled it
- Return to work after major trauma: a systematic review.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Sarcopenia as a predictor of poor functional outcome of cervical spine surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Neurosurgical review · 2025Pooled it
- Does paraspinal muscle morphometry predict functional status and re-operation after lumbar spinal surgery? A systematic review and meta-analysis.European radiology · 2023Pooled 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
- The predictive value of preoperative paraspinal muscle morphometry on complications after lumbar surgery: a systematic review.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
- Prognostic and Predictive Value ofFrontiers in endocrinology · 2022Pooled it
- Real-world two-year durability of restorative neurostimulation for treatment of multifidus dysfunction in patients with chronic low back pain: an observational German 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 · 2026Observational
- Article
- Intermuscular adipose tissue and lean muscle mass assessed with MRI in people with chronic back pain in Germany: a retrospective observational study.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2025Article
- Mid-term efficacy of OLIF combined with unilateral pedicle screw fixation in the treatment of lumbar degenerative diseases.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Multifidus Fat Infiltration in Patients with Persistent Spinal Pain Syndrome Type II Treated with Spinal Cord Stimulation: A Preliminary Report.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Editorial review of qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the lumbar multifidus muscles: Comparison of the magnetic resonance imaging and musculoskeletal ultrasound.Interventional pain medicine · 2025Article
- Targeted multifidus muscle activation reduces fibrosis of multifidus muscle following intervertebral disc injury.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
- 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
- Association between paraspinal muscle fat infiltration and regional kyphosis angle in thoracolumbar fracture patients: a retrospective study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Editorial: Myelopathies and spinal cord injuries: advances and controversies in pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Article
- Artificial Intelligence in Spine and Paraspinal Muscle Analysis.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Review
- Impact of Sarcopenia on Spinal Spondylosis: A Literature Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimLow back pain (LBP) resulting from degenerative lumbar spine disease is a leading contributor to global disability. Changes in the morphology of the lumbar multifidus muscle on magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) are associated with worse LBP and disability, but the association between multifidus morphology and post-operative outcomes is not known. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the relationship between pre-operative multifidus morphology and post-operative changes in pain and disability.
methodsWe performed a systematic search using the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL and Scopus databases covering the period from January 1946 to January 2018. The literature was searched and assessed by independent reviewers according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. All relevant papers were assessed for risk of bias according to the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool.
resultsThe initial search yielded 436 studies, of which 6 studies were included in the analysis. Four studies were at a low risk of bias. These studies included a total of 873 patients undergoing spinal surgery. An association between low fat infiltration and greater improvement in LBP and disability following surgery was identified. There was insufficient evidence to identify a relationship between cross-sectional area (CSA) and LBP or disability.
conclusionsThis systematic review found evidence for an association between low multifidus fat infiltration on MRI at baseline and greater reductions in measures of LBP and disability following surgical treatment. There is also limited evidence for an association between larger pre-operative multifidus CSA and improvements in disability, but not pain. The findings of this review should be interpreted with caution due to the small quantity of the available literature.
Indexed as
Identifiers
32328791What 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.