ArticleDiagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)2023
Ultrasound Imaging of Thoracolumbar Fascia Thickness: Chronic Non-Specific Lower Back Pain versus Healthy Subjects; A Sign of a "Frozen Back"?
Article in Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland), 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06055140 (Evaluation of Thoracolumbar Fascia and Relationship With Low Back Pain in Individuals With Idiopathic Scoliosis), which is not on this map. Cited by 33 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Evaluation of Thoracolumbar Fascia and Relationship With Low Back Pain in Individuals With Idiopathic Scoliosis
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Differences in the Thoracolumbar Fascia Between Low Back Pain Patients and Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2026Pooled it
- Ultrasound Imaging of Thoracolumbar Fascia: A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Myofascial Release Combined With Capacitive-Resistive Therapy in Patients With Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Pain research & management · 2025Trial
- Effects of percussive massage therapy on fascia echo intensity and fascia thickness in firefighters with chronic non-specific low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2024Trial
- Thoracolumbar Fascial Defect in Persistent Low Back Pain After Lumbar Surgery: Ultrasound Findings and Response to Fascial Plane Injection.Journal of orthopaedic case reports · 2026Article
- MRI and Ultrasound of the Thoracolumbar Fascia in the Setting of Degenerative Spinal Diseases.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Thoracolumbar fascia thickness and body mass index as predictors of pain sensitivity: a single-blinded experimental hypertonic saline study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- Higher lumbodorsal epimuscular fat associated with recurrent low back pain: an exploratory secondary analysis of cross-sectional MRI data with 1-year follow-up.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 · 2026Article
- Muscle ultrasonography in costello syndrome: unveiling new clinical insights of a complex muscular phenotype.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2026Article
- [Ultrasound-Guided Injection of the Thoracolumbar Fascia in the Treatment of Low Back Pain: Methodological Approach and Anatomical Study].Acta chirurgiae orthopaedicae et traumatologiae Cechoslovaca · 2026Article
- The Role of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound in Detecting Superior Cluneal Nerve Entrapment: Biomechanical Insights in Chronic Low Back Pain-A Pilot Study.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Connective tissue changes in Ehlers-Danlos syndromes with and without axial spondyloarthropathy.Journal of ultrasound · 2025Article
- Classification of paravertebral muscle trophism and its correlation with thoraco-lumbar fascia thickening in patients with chronic low back pain.Journal of ultrasound · 2025Article
- Assessment of the Fascial System Thickness in Patients with and Without Low Back Pain: A Narrative Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Mechanosensitivity and Adipose Thickness as Determinants of Pressure to Reach Deep Fasciae in Cervical and Thoracolumbar Regions.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Morphological characteristics of the thoracolumbar fascia: relationship to chronic low back pain and back extension strength.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 · 2025Article
- Precision targeting in acupuncture: a pilot and feasibility study protocol of ultrasound-guided approach for non-specific low back pain.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2025Article
- Review
- The (ProteUS) Anisotropy Effect in Deep Fascia Ultrasonography: The Impact of Probe Angulation on Echogenicity and Thickness Assessments.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Segmentation of the thoracolumbar fascia in ultrasound imaging: a deep learning approach.BMC medical imaging · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) plays an important role in lower back pain (LBP). Recent studies have revealed an association between increases in TLF thickness and reduced TLF gliding in patients with LBP. The purpose of this study was to measure and compare by ultrasound (US) imaging the thickness of the TLF at the bilateral L3 level of the lumbar spine in the longitudinal and transverse axes in chronic non-specific LBP and in healthy subjects. A cross-sectional study was performed using US imaging to measure the longitudinal and transverse axes with a new protocol in a sample of 92 subjects: 46 chronic non-specific LBP patients and 46 healthy participants. The findings for TLF thickness revealed statistically significant differences (
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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.