ArticleBioengineering (Basel, Switzerland)2023
The Role of Multifidus in the Biomechanics of Lumbar Spine: A Musculoskeletal Modeling Study.
Article in Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 39 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
- Impact of Intramuscular Electrical Stimulation on Multifidus Muscle Function in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2025Trial
- Effect of Axial and Coronal Malalignment on Polyethylene Stresses in Lumbosacral Total Joint Replacement: A Finite Element Study.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Effect of Lumbar Multifidus and Transversus Abdominis Muscle Activation on Balance in Patients with Hemiplegia.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Electromyogram diagnosed chronic lumbar radiculopathy is highly associated with L4-S1 regional multifidus atrophy on magnetic resonance imaging.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- Clinical significance and future applications of standardized imaging parameters for assessing paraspinal muscle fatty infiltration in lumbar degenerative disease: a narrative review.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2026Review
- Influence of Posture, Spinal Level, Gender and Muscle Activation on Biomechanical Properties of Lumbar Erector Spinae in Healthy Young Adults.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Observational
- Advances in biomechanical modeling of lumbar spine diseases and tumors: gaps, opportunities, and AI integration.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Review
- From mechanotransduction to manual therapy: advances in piezo/TRP channels and lumbar degeneration.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Review
- MRI Analysis of Paraspinal Muscle Morphology in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Case-Control Study.Cureus · 2025Article
- Correlation analysis between multifidus muscle atrophy and the severity of degenerative scoliosis retrospective, cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Molecular Assessment of Plasma Concentrations of Selected Adipokines and IL-8 in Horses with Back Pain and Comorbid Asthma-Based on Clinical Cases.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- A multi-parameter investigation of elite archery: distinguishing individual and shared performance strategies during the aiming and follow-through phases.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- Low Back Pain During and After Spaceflight: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2024Review
- The effect of lumbar multifidus muscle degeneration on upper lumbar disc herniation.Frontiers in surgery · 2024Article
- Standard isometric contraction has higher reliability than maximum voluntary isometric contraction for normalizing electromyography during level walking among older adults with knee osteoarthritis.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2024Article
- Kinematic changes of the trunk and lower limbs during voluntary lateral sway postural control in adults with low back pain.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2024Article
- Multifidus dysfunction and restorative neurostimulation: a scoping review.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2023Article
- Biomechanical Effects of Different Sitting Postures and Physiologic Movements on the Lumbar Spine: A Finite Element Study.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Fatty infiltration of the cervical multifidus musculature and its clinical correlation to cervical spondylosis.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe role of multifidus in the biomechanics of lumbar spine remained unclear. PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the role of multifidus in the modeling of lumbar spine and the influence of asymmetric multifidus atrophy on the biomechanics of lumbar spine.
methodsThis study considered five different multifidus conditions in the trunk musculoskeletal models: group 1 (with entire multifidus), group 2 (without multifidus), group 3 (multifidus with half of maximum isometric force), group 4 (asymmetric multifidus atrophy on L5/S1 level), and group 5 (asymmetric multifidus atrophy on L4/L5 level). In order to test how different multifidus situations would affect the lumbar spine, four trunk flexional angles (0°, 30°, 60°, and 90°) were simulated. The calculation of muscle activation and muscle force was done using static optimization function in OpenSim. Then, joint reaction forces of L5/S1 and L4/L5 levels were calculated and compared among the groups.
resultsThe models without multifidus had the highest normalized compressive forces on the L4/L5 level in trunk flexion tasks. In extreme cases produced by group 2 models, the normalized compressive forces on L4/L5 level were 444% (30° flexion), 568% (60° flexion), and 576% (90° flexion) of upper body weight, which were 1.82 times, 1.63 times, and 1.13 times as large as the values computed by the corresponding models in group 1. In 90° flexion, the success rate of simulation in group 2 was 49.6%, followed by group 3 (84.4%), group 4 (89.6%), group 5 (92.8%), and group 1 (92.8%).
conclusionsThe results demonstrate that incorporating multifidus in the musculoskeletal model is important for increasing the success rate of simulation and decreasing the incidence of overestimation of compressive load on the lumbar spine. Asymmetric multifidus atrophy has negligible effect on the lower lumbar spine in the trunk flexion posture. The results highlighted the fine-tuning ability of multifidus in equilibrating the loads on the lower back and the necessity of incorporating multifidus in trunk musculoskeletal modeling.
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