Observational studyThe spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society2026
Spatial patterns of fat within the deep multifidus as a biomarker for chronic low back pain.
Observational study in The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Predicting Clinical Improvement in Chronic Low Back Pain Using Exercise-Induced IVIM Perfusion: Threshold Evaluation and Disability-Dependent Effects.NMR in biomedicine · 2026Article
- AI-Supported Functional Pain Phenotyping in Low Back Pain Using Sensor-Based Gait and Neuromuscular Biomarkers.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Chronicity and physical activity levels independently associate with spatial patterns of multifidus fat infiltration in chronic low back pain patients.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
- Toward visualized pathophenotyping: a multimodal imaging-guided conceptual framework for chronic low back pain.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Multifidus Dysfunction and Chronic Low Back Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Supporting Data for Accurate Diagnosis and Successful Treatment Outcomes Associated With Restorative Neurostimulation.International journal of spine surgery · 2025Article
- Preclinical perspectives on disorders of the temporomandibular joint: Tracing the past, navigating the present, and shaping the future.The journal of pain · 2025Review
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
background contextChronic low back pain (cLBP) patients often have elevated fat infiltration (FI) in the multifidus (MF), but it is unclear how this relates to pain and degenerative spine features. Most prior work assess MF degeneration as the average whole-muscle fat content even though deep and superficial fascicles of the MF have different structural and functional characteristics. Assessing the spatial distribution of MF FI may provide regional context for causal mechanisms which may have distinct regional presentations within the muscle. PURPOSE: This study assesses spatial patterns of MF FI at each lumbar level to identify regional differences associated with cLBP symptoms and degenerative spine features. STUDY
designThis is an observational cross-sectional study. PATIENT SAMPLE: Our study sample consisted of 230 cLBP patients from the BACPAC comeback cohort who reported low back pain that has persisted for the past 3 months. OUTCOME MEASURES: Measures included MF fat-maps-a FI curve showing the spatial distribution of fat moving radially through the MF-created at each lumbar level (L1L2-L5S1). Other measures included average fat fraction in the deepest 15% of the MF (deep15 FI%), average whole-muscle fat fraction (overall FI%) and the Pain, Enjoyment of Life, and General Activity (PEG) survey score.
methodsWe collected 3T MRI and used advanced sequences (IDEAL) to map the spatial distribution of MF FI at each lumbar level. We used statistical parametric mapping to identify spatial patterns of fat in the MF associated with age, sex, and BMI. Then, we tested for differences in spatial patterns of MF FI associated with pain and adjacent disc degeneration. Next, we calculated the fat fraction in a region of interest in the deepest 15% of the MF (deep15 FI%) and used linear mixed effects modeling to compare how age, sex, BMI, pain, and degenerative spine features associate with the deep15 FI% and the overall FI% separately. Lastly, we used linear regression models of PEG to compare FI measures as predictors for pain.
resultsElevated FI associated with PEG and adjacent disc degeneration only within the deepest 10% (p<.05) and deepest 25% (p<.01) of the MF respectively at the lower lumbar levels. Associations between demographic factors and FI were not specific to the deep MF. Older age and female sex associated with elevated FI throughout the muscle (p<.001) while higher BMI associated with elevated FI in only the superficial 60% of the MF (p<.001). Lastly, higher mean deep15 FI% but not mean overall FI% at the lower lumbar levels associated with higher PEG (p=.023).
conclusionsFI in deep regions of the MF at L4L5 and L5S1 is more strongly associated with pain and adjacent disc degeneration and less associated with age, sex, and BMI than overall FI%. We identify regional differences in MF FI related to pain which improves our understanding of cLBP-related MF degeneration and provides additional context for possible causal mechanisms of FI. Further, the "deep15" FI% is a novel MF FI measure, and possible biomarker, more strongly associated with cLBP than summary measures.
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