Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39556147›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 Society2025

Three-dimensional spatial distribution of lumbar paraspinal intramuscular fat revealed by spatial parametric mapping.

K A Weber, E O Wesselink, J Gutierrez, C S W Law, S Mackey, J Ratliff, S Hu, A S Chaudhari, A Pool-Goudzwaard, M W Coppieters and 3 more

Abstract read
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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, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. 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

13 authors.

K A Weber *Division of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1070 Arastradero Road, Suite 200, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA. kenweber@stanford.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-0916-9174
E O Wesselink *Division of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1070 Arastradero Road, Suite 200, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA.
J GutierrezDivision of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1070 Arastradero Road, Suite 200, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA.
C S W LawDivision of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1070 Arastradero Road, Suite 200, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA.
S MackeyDivision of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1070 Arastradero Road, Suite 200, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA.
J RatliffDepartment of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
S HuDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
A S ChaudhariDepartment of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
A Pool-GoudzwaardFaculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
M W CoppietersSchool of Health Sciences and Social Work, Griffith University, Brisbane and Gold Coast, Australia.
J M ElliottThe Kolling Institute, The University of Sydney and The Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, Australia.
M HancockDepartment of Health Professions, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
B De LeenerDepartment of Computer Engineering and Software Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal, Montreal, Canada.

Funding

Rapid MRI for Evaluation of OsteoarthritisR01EB002524 · NIBIB · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Akshay Chaudhari, Garry E Gold · 2003 to 2026
$10.1M
Rapid Low-Cost Quantitative 3D MRI and Gait Assessment of the KneeR01AR077604 · NIAMS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI HARGREAVES, BRIAN ANDREW · 2020 to 2024
$3.2M
Imaging of Joint Response to Physiological Stress with Age, Sex and in OsteoarthritisR01AR079431 · NIAMS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Feliks Kogan · 2022 to 2026
$2.9M
MRI-Derived Neuromuscular Signatures to Predict Surgical Response in Degenerative Cervical MyelopathyR01NS128478 · NINDS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Kenneth Arnold Weber · 2023 to 2026
$2.2M
Neuroimaging-Based Brain and Spinal Cord Biomarkers for Cervical RadiculopathyK23NS104211 · NINDS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI WEBER, KENNETH ARNOLD · 2018 to 2022
$875k
Mentoring in Discovery and Validation of Clinical Chronic Pain BiomarkersK24NS126781 · NINDS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI MACKEY, SEAN C · 2021 to 2021
$324k
NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR077604NIAMS NIH HHS R01 AR079431NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB002524NINDS NIH HHS K23 NS104211NINDS NIH HHS K23NS104211NINDS NIH HHS K24 NS126781NINDS NIH HHS L30 NS108301NINDS NIH HHS L30NS108301NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS128478NINDS NIH HHS R01NS128478
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeLumbar paraspinal intramuscular fat (IMF) has emerged as a biological factor in low back pain (LBP). Traditional assessments measure IMF across the entire muscle or at specific levels and may miss key information on the role of IMF in LBP. Despite known variations across the lumbar spine, the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of IMF has not been characterized across people. Here we develop a template-based spatial parametric mapping approach to explore the 3D spatial distribution of lumbar paraspinal IMF.

methodsTo generate a lumbar spine template, we used T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging from 76 people who recently recovered from LBP. We spatially normalized fat probability maps from Gaussian mixture modeling to the template and then calculated group-level spatial parametric maps of IMF and the associations between IMF and age, BMI, and sex.

resultsThe template had clear delineation of the neural, vertebral, and muscular structures. We observed muscle-specific and spatially varying 3D patterns of IMF across the lumbar spine along with age-, BMI-, and sex-related associations. For the lumbar multifidus and erector spinae, IMF increased inferiorly and was greatest at the anterior-medial muscle borders, while psoas major IMF was more evenly distributed. The associations between IMF and age, BMI, and sex varied spatially with both positive and negative associations present within an individual muscle.

conclusionThe developed 3D spatial parametric mapping approach provides a comprehensive assessment of lumbar paraspinal IMF, potentially enhancing our understanding of lumbar spine function and pathology, treatment mechanisms, and the modifiable factors promoting recovery from LBP.

Indexed as

Adipose TissueImaging, Three-DimensionalLow Back PainLumbar VertebraeParaspinal MusclesAdultAgedFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedYoung AdultAdipose tissueComputer-assistedImage processingLow back painMagnetic resonance imagingMuscles

Identifiers

PMID39556147
PMCPMC11757034

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Registered trials

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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.