ArticleInsights into imaging2025
Thoracolumbar fascia ultrasound shear strain differs between low back pain and asymptomatic individuals: expanding the evidence.
Article in Insights into imaging, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04716101 (Ultrasound Imaging Measurements of the Thoracolumbar Fascia Following Massage Therapy), which is not on this map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Ultrasound Imaging Measurements of the Thoracolumbar Fascia Following Massage Therapy: a Proof of Concept Study
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Differences in the Thoracolumbar Fascia Between Low Back Pain Patients and Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2026Pooled it
- Quantitative ultrasound evaluation of the thoracolumbar fascia after manual and acupuncture therapies: an exploratory mechanistic randomized controlled trial with a sequential within-subject phase.European radiology experimental · 2026Trial
- Detecting Intervention-Specific Change in Soft Tissue Mobility Aligned with Regional Pain Through Optically Measured Skin Surface Strains.Annals of biomedical engineering · 2026Article
- Thoracolumbar Fascia Remodeling in Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: Translational Orthopedic Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Application of Ultrasound Shear Wave Elastography as an Objective Outcome Measure in Nonspecific Low Back Pain Associated with Myofascial Trigger Points.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translation · 2026Article
- Thoracolumbar fascia ultrasound and elastography biomarkers in low back pain: a systematic review of associations and responsiveness to intervention.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 · 2026Review
- MRI-defined lumbar fasciitis is associated with inferior subjective outcomes after endoscopic decompression for lumbar spinal stenosis.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
- Variable Impedance Control for Force Tracking in Multi-Mode Robotic Back Massage.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 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
- MASSAG model: Towards an integrative neuroscience framework linking emotional trauma, pain, and mechanisms of force-based manipulations.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2026Review
- Pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of discogenic low back pain: a phenotype-driven precision framework for surgical and interventional decision-making.Frontiers in surgery · 2026Review
- The risk factors of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture accompanied with thoracolumbar fascial injury: a single-center retrospective study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The In Vitro and Vivo Validation of a New Ultrasound Method to Quantify Thoracolumbar Fascia Deformation.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- A review and empirical findings of fasciae and muscle interactions in low back pain.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo compare thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) shear strain between individuals with and without nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP), investigate its correlation with symptoms, and assess a standardized massage technique's impact on TLF shear strain.
methodsParticipants were prospectively enrolled between February 2021 and June 2022. Pre- and post-intervention TLF ultrasound and pain/disability questionnaires were conducted. Cumulated (C|ShS|
resultsThirty-two NSLBP participants (mean age, 57 ± 9 years [standard deviation]; 21 women) and 32 controls (51 ± 10 years; 22 women) (p = 0.02) were enrolled. The mean shear strain was higher in NSLBP participants (C|ShS|
conclusionIndividuals with NSLBP demonstrated elevated TLF shear strain compared to controls, with similar TLF thickness. The shear strain correlated with pain and disability scores, yet a brief massage did not influence shear strain.
trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov, NCT04716101. Registered 14 January 2021, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04716101 . CRITICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Ultrasound shows elevated TLF shear strain in lower back pain sufferers compared to controls. This correlates with symptoms, suggesting a role as a pain generator. Further investigation into its anatomy, mechanical characteristics, and pathophysiology is crucial for better understanding. KEY POINTS: Structural and mechanical alterations of the TLF may contribute to low back pain. Elevated TLF lateral shear strain was found in patients with NSLBP. A brief standardized massage therapy technique did not influence elastography parameters.
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