ArticleBrain & spine2024
Fat beyond muscle: Assessing epimuscular fat of the lumbar spine and its association with vertebral level, demographics, BMI, and low back pain.
Article in Brain & spine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Epimuscular fat and its clinical relevance: a narrative review focused on paraspinal muscles.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2026Review
- Evaluation of Paraspinal Muscle Epimuscular Fat in Subjects With Low Back Pain in a Tertiary Care Setting.Cureus · 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
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Epimuscular fat (EF) has rarely been studied in the context of low back pain (LBP). Research question: This study aims to assess the presence and extent of EF in the lumbar muscles and its association with vertebral level in patients with low back disorders and to explore correlations between EF, demographics, BMI, and LBP. Material and methods: T2 axial MRIs from L1 to L5 were manually segmented to analyze the cross-sectional area (CSA) of EF (mm Results: EF was found in 77.5% of subjects at L1, 92.5% at L2, 100% at L3 and L4, and 95.0% at L5. EF was significantly larger at L4 (253.1 ± 183.6 mm Discussion and conclusion: EF is present across all lumbar levels, with higher concentrations at L4 and L5, and a significant correlation between EF and LBP intensity was observed. The present findings are limited to a specific subset of patients with lumbar degenerative disorders who are awaiting surgical procedures.
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Registered trials
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