Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34733598›Full record

ArticleCureus2021

The Quantity and Quality of Lumbar Muscles and Lumbopelvic Parameters in Patients With Degenerative Spondylolisthesis.

Shuhei Ohyama, Yasuchika Aoki, Masahiro Inoue, Takayuki Nakajima, Yusuke Sato, Hiroyuki Fukuchi, Takayuki Sakai, Shigehiro Ochi, Noriyuki Yanagawa, Seiji Ohtori

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cureus, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 26% 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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Effect of paraspinal muscle morphometry in degenerative and isthmic spondylolisthesis: an MRI 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 · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. 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 4 institutions in 1 country.

Shuhei OhyamaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Eastern Chiba Medical Center, Togane, JPN.
Yasuchika AokiDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Eastern Chiba Medical Center, Togane, JPN.
Masahiro InoueDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Eastern Chiba Medical Center, Togane, JPN.
Takayuki NakajimaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Eastern Chiba Medical Center, Togane, JPN.
Yusuke SatoDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Eastern Chiba Medical Center, Togane, JPN.
Hiroyuki FukuchiDepartment of Radiology, Eastern Chiba Medical Center, Togane, JPN.
Takayuki SakaiDepartment of Radiology, Eastern Chiba Medical Center, Togane, JPN.
Shigehiro OchiDepartment of Radiology, Eastern Chiba Medical Center, Togane, JPN.
Noriyuki YanagawaDepartment of Radiology, Eastern Chiba Medical Center, Togane, JPN.
Seiji OhtoriDepartment of Orthopaedics, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba, JPN.
Chiba University Hospital · JPChiba Hospital · JPChiba University · JPTeikyo University Chiba Medical Center · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction Lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) is one of the most common causes of low back pain. The lumbar muscles, such as the psoas major (PM), erector spinae (ES), and multifidus (MF) muscles, play an important role in the stability and functional movement of the lumbar spine. The quantities and qualities of these muscles may be related to the occurrence of DS and lumbopelvic parameters, such as lumbar lordosis (LL) and sacral slope (SS). However,the influence of lumbar muscles on DS and lumbopelvic alignment is not well understood. Methods Patients with L4 DS (DS group, n=25) and without DS (non-DS group, n=25) were included. Using sagittal reconstructed CT images of patients who visited our hospital for reasons other than low back disorders, LL, upper lumbar lordosis ([ULL] L1-L4), lower lumbar lordosis ([LLL] L4-S1), and SS were examined. To evaluate the quantity and quality of lumbar muscles, the gross cross-sectional area (GCSA), functional cross-sectional area (FCSA), and fat infiltration (FI) of the PM, ES, and MF muscles were measured by CT images. The lumbopelvic parameters, FCSA, GCSA, and FI of lumbar muscles were compared between the two groups. Then, each lumbar muscle parameter was analyzed for correlation with DS and lumbopelvic parameters. Results DS patients displayed significantly greater ULL and lower FI of the PM and ES muscles than non-DS patients (p=0.0078, 0.031, and 0.010, respectively). The FI of the ES muscle was significantly correlated with the presence of DS (p=0.010). The FCSA of the ES and MF muscles and the GCSA of the MF muscle showed a significant correlation with LL and SS in the non-DS group (p<0.05), but not in the DS group.. Conclusion ULL was greater in L4 DS patients, possibly related to the better quality of the ES muscle. All DS patients showed mild (grade I) spondylolisthesis, suggesting the possibility that lumbar muscle quality is better in patients with mild DS than in those without DS. The ES and MF muscles may play an important role in maintaining the lumbar lordotic angle in non-DS patients but not in DS patients.

Indexed as

cross-sectional areadegenerative spondylolisthesisfat infiltrationlumbar lordosislumbar musclelumbopelvic parameters

Identifiers

PMID34733598
PMCPMC8557985
OpenAlexW3203947945

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.