Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40376565›Full record

ArticleJOR spine2025

Relationship Between Lumbar Multifidus Morphometry and Pain/Disability in Individuals With Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain After Considering Demographics, Fear-Avoidance Beliefs, Insomnia, and Spinal Degenerative Changes.

Sabina M Pinto, Jason P Y Cheung, Dino Samartzis, Jaro Karppinen, Yong-Ping Zheng, Marco Y C Pang, Maryse Fortin, Arnold Y L Wong

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JOR spine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. ISSLS Prize in Bioengineering Science 2026: Hidden in Plain Sight: Machine Learning-Assisted MRI Reveals Novel Vertebral Body Biomarkers of Chronic Low Back Pain in Humans.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 · 2026
    Article
  2. Real-world two-year durability of restorative neurostimulation for treatment of multifidus dysfunction in patients with chronic low back pain: an observational German cohort 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 · 2026
    Observational
  3. 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

8 authors.

Sabina M PintoDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong SAR China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3812-8854
Jason P Y CheungDepartment of Orthopaedics and Traumatology The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong SAR China.
Dino SamartzisDepartment of Orthopaedics Surgery Rush University Medical Center Chicago Illinois USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7473-1311
Jaro KarppinenMedical Research Center Oulu Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu Oulu Finland.
Yong-Ping ZhengDepartment of Biomedical Engineering The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong SAR China.
Marco Y C PangDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong SAR China.
Maryse FortinDepartment of Health, Kinesiology & Applied Physiology Concordia University Montreal Quebec Canada.
Arnold Y L WongDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong SAR China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Although individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP) show increased fatty infiltration in the lumbar multifidus muscle (LMM), it remains unclear whether LMM changes are related to clinical outcomes (such as pain and disability) after considering confounders (spinal phenotypes, fear-avoidance beliefs [FABs] and insomnia). This study examined: (1) differences in confounders and LMM characteristics between individuals with and without CLBP; and (2) associations between confounders, LMM parameters, and clinical outcomes in the CLBP group alone. Methods: Participants (CLBP = 70 and asymptomatic people = 67) underwent lumbar magnetic resonance imaging. Outcome measures comprised the numeric pain rating scale, the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire, the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ), and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) Scale. LMM morphometry at L3-S1 (cross-sectional area, total volume, and fatty infiltration) was measured using a customized MATLAB program. Spinal phenotypes (disc degeneration, high-intensity zones, Modic changes [MCs], Schmorl's nodes, facet joint degeneration [FJD], and facet tropism [FT]) were scored. The between-group differences were analyzed using linear mixed models and chi-squared/Fisher's exact tests. Univariate and multivariate analyses evaluated associations between clinical outcomes and other outcome measures in the CLBP group. Results: The CLBP group demonstrated more severe disc degeneration and FJD at all levels, and greater FT at L5/S1 than asymptomatic participants ( Conclusions: The CLBP group displays more fatty infiltration in the LMM, but their LMM morphometric parameters are unrelated to pain/disability after considering spinal phenotypes, FABs, and insomnia.

Indexed as

chronic low back painfacet joint degenerationfear avoidance beliefsinsomnialumbar multifidusModic changes

Identifiers

PMID40376565
PMCPMC12080348

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.