Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32677568›Full record

ArticleGlobal spine journal2020

The Implications of Paraspinal Muscle Atrophy in Low Back Pain, Thoracolumbar Pathology, and Clinical Outcomes After Spine Surgery: A Review of the Literature.

Kevin He, Jeffery Head, Nikolaos Mouchtouris, Kevin Hines, Phelan Shea, Richard Schmidt, Christian Hoelscher, Geoffrey Stricsek, James Harrop, Ashwini Sharan

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Global spine journal, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
53citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
3.7field-weighted citation impact, top 6% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

53 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 76 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Adult spinal deformity correction surgery using age-adjusted alignment thresholds: clinical outcomes and mechanical complication rates. A systematic review of the literature.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 · 2024
    Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Observational
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Kevin HeThomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Jeffery HeadThomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8077-4409
Nikolaos MouchtourisThomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9495-9391
Kevin HinesThomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1700-174X
Phelan SheaUniversity of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Richard SchmidtThomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Christian HoelscherThomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Geoffrey StricsekThomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
James HarropThomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Ashwini SharanThomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Thomas Jefferson University · USUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designLiterature review.

objectivesParaspinal muscle integrity is believed to play a critical role in low back pain (LBP) and numerous spinal deformity diseases and other pain pathologies. The influence of paraspinal muscle atrophy (PMA) on the clinical and radiographic success of spinal surgery has not been established. We aim to survey the literature in order to evaluate the impact of paraspinal muscle atrophy on low back pain, spine pathologies, and postoperative outcomes of spinal surgery.

methodsA review of the literature was conducted using a total of 267 articles identified from a search of the PubMed database and additional resources. A full-text review was conducted of 180 articles, which were assessed based on criteria that included an objective assessment of PMA in addition to measuring its relationship to LBP, thoracolumbar pathology, or surgical outcomes.

resultsA total of 34 studies were included in this review. The literature on PMA illustrates an association between LBP and both decreased cross-sectional area and increased fatty infiltration of paraspinal musculature. Atrophy of the erector spinae and psoas muscles have been associated with spinal stenosis, isthmic spondylolisthesis, facet arthropathy, degenerative lumbar kyphosis. A number of studies have also demonstrated an association between PMA and worse postoperative outcomes.

conclusionsPMA is linked to several spinal pathologies and some studies demonstrate an association with worse postoperative outcomes following spinal surgery. There is a need for further research to establish a relationship between preoperative paraspinal muscle integrity and postoperative success, with the potential for guiding surgical decision making.

Indexed as

low-back painlumbarparaspinal muscle atrophyspine surgerysystematic review

Identifiers

PMID32677568
PMCPMC7359686
OpenAlexW2979360986

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.