ArticleEuropean radiology2025
Quality of lumbar paraspinal muscles in patients with chronic low back pain and its relationship to pain duration, pain intensity, and quality of life.
Article in European radiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- 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
- Efficacy of ozone with steroid injection therapy in lumbar disc herniation: meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Association Between Body Composition, Muscle-to-Weight Ratio, and Functional Disability in Patients with Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Observational
- 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
- Multifidus fatty infiltration and vertebral translation are key factors associated with movement-related low back pain in L5 isthmic 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 · 2026Article
- Deep learning-based assessment of paraspinal muscle degeneration and its relationships to muscle function and disability outcomes in chronic low back pain: a prospective study.European radiology · 2026Article
- Paraspinal muscle degeneration patterns in degenerative spinal deformity: a histological, morphological, and muscle functional comparison.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2026Article
- The association of lumbar paraspinal muscle size and quality with physical function, disability, and pain in adults with chronic low back pain.JOSPT open · 2026Article
- Association between multifidus fatty infiltration and lumbar facet degeneration in unilateral disc herniation: a retrospective study.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2026Article
- Impact of paravertebral muscular atrophy in acute work-related low back pain: a retrospective cohort study.Skeletal radiology · 2026Observational
- MRI Analysis of Paraspinal Muscle Morphology in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Case-Control Study.Cureus · 2025Article
- A multidimensional in-depth analysis of postoperative pain after PLIF in patients with degenerative lumbar spine disease.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo examine the relationship between the quality of paraspinal muscles and pain intensity, duration, and quality of life in patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP).
methodsBetween January 2022 and December 2023, 119 individuals with no-back pain (no-BP) and 136 cLBP patients were enrolled. Both groups underwent health surveys and magnetic resonance imaging. Cross-sectional area (CSA), functional cross-sectional area (FCSA), and fat infiltration (FI) of multifidus (MF) and erector spinae (ES) were measured. Data were analyzed using multiple linear and binary logistic regression.
resultsCompared to the cLBP group, the no-BP group had smaller CSA influenced by FI of ES at L5/S1 (p = 0.01), higher FCSA of ES (p < 0.01) at L4/L5, and lower FI of ES and MF at L4/L5 and L5/S1 (p < 0.01). CSA, FCSA, and FI showed no significant correlation with cLBP intensity except for the CSA (p = 0.02) and FCSA (p = 0.03) of the L2/3 MF. Pain duration positively correlated with FI at L2/3, L3/4, and L4/5 of MF and ES (p < 0.05) and CSA of the L1/2 MF (p = 0.02). CSA (L3/4, L4/5, and L5/S1) and FCSA (L4/5, L5/S1) of MF correlated positively with SF36 scores (p < 0.05), while ES muscles did not (p > 0.05). FI of MF and ES showed no correlation with SF36 scores.
conclusionCSA and FI were significantly higher, and FCSA significantly lower in paraspinal muscles of cLBP patients compared to asymptomatic participants. Increased FI correlated with prolonged cLBP duration, indicating FI and FCSA alterations may play a significant role in cLBP development and duration. KEY POINTS: Question What is the relationship between paraspinal muscle quality and cLBP, including its intensity, duration, and impact on quality of life? Findings cLBP patients had increased FI and reduced functional muscle area in paraspinal muscles, with FI correlating with prolonged pain duration. Clinical relevance Understanding the changes in lumbar paraspinal muscles provides insight into cLBP progression, guiding personalized interventions to improve pain management and patient quality of life.
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