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
Association between lumbar paraspinal muscle activities and quality in chronic low back pain: a cross-sectional analysis.
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 8 papers.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Spinal Muscle Health in Chronic Low Back Pain: An Integrated Narrative Review of Muscle Quality, Function, and Clinical Implications.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- AI-Supported Functional Pain Phenotyping in Low Back Pain Using Sensor-Based Gait and Neuromuscular Biomarkers.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- 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
- Spinal mobility and paraspinal muscle degeneration: a cross-sectional analysis from the Berlin Back Study.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
- Quantitative MRI assessment of paraspinal muscles and the psoas: associations with low back pain.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2026Article
- Non-specific low back pain prevalence and associated factors among Chinese people aged 60 years and older: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Age-related variations in trunk muscle activation and kinematics during lifting in chronic low back pain: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThis study aimed to investigate the associations between electromyography (EMG) activity and key muscle quality parameters, including cross-sectional area (CSA), functional cross-sectional area (FCSA), fat area (FA), and fat infiltration (FI), in individuals with chronic low back pain (cLBP) and those without back pain (no-BP). The objective was to explore how variations in muscle quality affect muscle activation patterns in the erector spinae (ES) and multifidus (MF) muscles during a standardized lifting task in both groups.
methodsA total of 102 participants were enrolled, comprising 60 individuals with cLBP and 42 without back pain. Muscle activation was measured using a bipolar wireless EMG system during the performance of a 10 kg lifting task. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was utilized to assess muscle quality indicators (CSA, FCSA, FA, and FI) at the L3 level for the ES muscle and the L5 level for the MF muscle. Linear regression models were applied to examine the associations between EMG activity and muscle quality metrics, with adjustments for age, sex, and body mass index (BMI).
resultsIn the no-BP group, significant negative associations were found between CSA, FCSA, and EMG activity in the ES muscles (p < 0.05). However, in the cLBP group, no significant associations were observed between CSA or FCSA and EMG activity. Instead, there was a significant negative association between EMG activity and FA/FI in the ES muscles of the cLBP group (p < 0.05).
conclusionMuscle quality, particularly fat infiltration, appears to have a greater impact on the amplitude of muscle activities in cLBP patients compared to CSA and FCSA. In contrast to the no-BP group, CSA and FCSA were not significantly associated with muscle activation in the cLBP group, highlighting the need for rehabilitation strategies focused on reducing fat infiltration to improve muscle performance in these patients.
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Registered trials
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