Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34978601›Full record

ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2022

Different degeneration patterns of paraspinal muscles in degenerative lumbar diseases: a MRI analysis of 154 patients.

Jun-Zhe Ding, Chao Kong, Xiang-Yu Li, Xiang-Yao Sun, Shi-Bao Lu, Guo-Gunag Zhao

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article 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, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
42citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
10.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% 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

42 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 53 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. Review
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  8. Effects of paraspinal muscle atrophy and fatty degeneration on segmental kyphosis after conservative treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) in postmenopausal women.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
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  12. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of fatty infiltration in paraspinal muscles in spine-specific sarcopenia.Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2026
    Review
  13. A fast classification system for adult spinal deformity with sagittal imbalance based on spinal sagittal parameters.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
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  15. Assessing the association between degenerative disc disease and spinal mobility.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 · 2025
    Article
  16. MRI Radiomics based on paraspinal muscle for prediction postoperative outcomes in lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis.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 · 2025
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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

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Jun-Zhe DingDepartment of Orthopedic, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, No.45 Changchun Street, Beijing, 100053, China.
Chao KongDepartment of Orthopedic, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, No.45 Changchun Street, Beijing, 100053, China.
Xiang-Yu LiDepartment of Orthopedic, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, No.45 Changchun Street, Beijing, 100053, China.
Xiang-Yao SunDepartment of Orthopedic, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, No.45 Changchun Street, Beijing, 100053, China.
Shi-Bao LuDepartment of Orthopedic, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, No.45 Changchun Street, Beijing, 100053, China. 445119837@qq.com.
Guo-Gunag ZhaoDepartment of Orthopedic, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, No.45 Changchun Street, Beijing, 100053, China. xuanwuspine2021@163.com.
Capital Medical University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

designA retrospective study.

objectiveTo evaluate the different degeneration patterns of paraspinal muscles in degenerative lumbar diseases and their correlation with lumbar spine degeneration severity. The degeneration characteristics of different paraspinal muscles in degenerative lumbar diseases remain unclear.

methods78 patients diagnosed with single-level degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DLS) and 76 patients with degenerative lumbar kyphosis (DLK) were included as DLS and DLK groups. Paraspinal muscle parameters of psoas major (PS), erector spinae (ES) and multifidus muscle (MF) were measured, including fatty infiltration (FI) and relative cross-sectional area (rCSA), namely the ratio of the paraspinal muscle CSA to the CSA of the vertebrae of the same segment. Sagittal parameters including lumbar lordosis (LL) and sagittal vertical axis (SVA) were measured. The paraspinal muscle parameters and ES/MF rCSA ratio were compared between the two groups. Paraspinal muscles parameters including rCSA and FI were also compared between each segments from L1 to L5 in both DLS and DLK groups. In order to determine the influence of sagittal spinal alignment on paraspinal muscle parameters, correlation analysis was conducted between the MF, ES, PS rCSA and FI and the LL in DLS and DLK group.

resultMF atrophy is more significant in DLS patients compared with DLK. Also, MF fatty infiltration in the lower lumbar spine of DLS patients was greater compared to DLK patients. DLK patients showed more significant atrophy of ES and heavier ES fatty infiltration. MF FI was significantly different between all adjacent segments in both DLS and DLK groups. In DLS group, ES FI was significantly different between L2/L3 to L3/L4 and L4/L5 to L5/S1, while in DLK group, the difference of ES FI between all adjacent segments was not significant, and ES FI was found negatively correlated with LL.

conclusionsParaspinal muscles show different degeneration patterns in degenerative lumbar diseases. MF degeneration is segmental in both DLS and DLK patients, while ES degenerated diffusely in DLK patients and correlated with the severity of kyphosis. MF degeneration is more significant in the DLS group, while ES degeneration is more significant in DLK patients. MF is the stabilizer of the lumbar spine segments, while the ES tends to maintain the spinal sagittal balance.

Indexed as

Lumbosacral RegionParaspinal MusclesHumansLumbar VertebraeMagnetic Resonance ImagingRetrospective StudiesDegenerative lumbar kyphosisDegenerative lumbar spondylolisthesisFatty infiltrationParaspinal muscleRelative cross-sectional area

Identifiers

PMID34978601
OpenAlexW4205871177

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.