A comparative imaging analysis of paraspinal muscles in healthy individuals and patients with chronic low back pain

Background: Chronic low back pain (CBP) is a heterogeneous disease that may be caused by intervertebral disc lesions, age-related degenerative lumbar vertebral bodies, nerve compressions at its exit points, age-related weakness of paraspinal muscles, or tendinous and myofascial causes. This study co...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hosapatna Mamatha, Kumar Megur Ramakrishna Bhat, Othman Hakum Said, Lokadolalu Chandrachar Prasanna
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-11-01
Series:Translational Research in Anatomy
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214854X24000414
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846166122218389504
author Hosapatna Mamatha
Kumar Megur Ramakrishna Bhat
Othman Hakum Said
Lokadolalu Chandrachar Prasanna
author_facet Hosapatna Mamatha
Kumar Megur Ramakrishna Bhat
Othman Hakum Said
Lokadolalu Chandrachar Prasanna
author_sort Hosapatna Mamatha
collection DOAJ
description Background: Chronic low back pain (CBP) is a heterogeneous disease that may be caused by intervertebral disc lesions, age-related degenerative lumbar vertebral bodies, nerve compressions at its exit points, age-related weakness of paraspinal muscles, or tendinous and myofascial causes. This study compared the changes in the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the paraspinal muscles between healthy individuals and patients with CBP at the L4 superior endplate level. Methods: Magnetic Resonance (MR) Images of 50 healthy males without a history of back pain and 50 patients with CBP aged 40–60 years were retrospectively evaluated. The CSAs of the bilateral paraspinal muscles viz multifidus, erector spinae, psoas major, and quadratus lumborum were measured in the axial view at the level of the L4 superior endplate. The sagittal view of the MRI images at the L4 superior endplate level was selected to evaluate intervertebral disc (IVD) abnormalities. Further, these images were subjected to the Tissue Quant algorithm to quantify muscle atrophy and fat deposition. Results: Sagittal section images showed diffuse bulges in the IVD of 28 patients with CBP rather than IVD extrusion or protrusion. Decreased multifidus CSA and a marginal increase in CSA of other paraspinal muscles were observed in CBP patients along with significant fat infiltration within the paraspinal muscles. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a bilateral decrease in the CSA of multifidus muscles in patients with CBP compared with healthy individuals. In contrast, a slight increase in CSA was noted in the remaining paraspinal muscles, which may be due to reduced muscle mass and increased interfascicular fatty infiltration. Evaluating the manifestations of each paraspinal muscle and subsequent strengthening of the concerned muscle should be targeted for treating CBP.
format Article
id doaj-art-5c99ed7c55d04a15a087272f231c7b2a
institution Kabale University
issn 2214-854X
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Translational Research in Anatomy
spelling doaj-art-5c99ed7c55d04a15a087272f231c7b2a2024-11-16T05:11:17ZengElsevierTranslational Research in Anatomy2214-854X2024-11-0137100319A comparative imaging analysis of paraspinal muscles in healthy individuals and patients with chronic low back painHosapatna Mamatha0Kumar Megur Ramakrishna Bhat1Othman Hakum Said2Lokadolalu Chandrachar Prasanna3Department of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, IndiaDepartment of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, IndiaSchool of Health and Medical Sciences, State University of Zanzibar, Zanzibar, Post Box: 146, TanzaniaDepartment of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India; Corresponding author.Background: Chronic low back pain (CBP) is a heterogeneous disease that may be caused by intervertebral disc lesions, age-related degenerative lumbar vertebral bodies, nerve compressions at its exit points, age-related weakness of paraspinal muscles, or tendinous and myofascial causes. This study compared the changes in the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the paraspinal muscles between healthy individuals and patients with CBP at the L4 superior endplate level. Methods: Magnetic Resonance (MR) Images of 50 healthy males without a history of back pain and 50 patients with CBP aged 40–60 years were retrospectively evaluated. The CSAs of the bilateral paraspinal muscles viz multifidus, erector spinae, psoas major, and quadratus lumborum were measured in the axial view at the level of the L4 superior endplate. The sagittal view of the MRI images at the L4 superior endplate level was selected to evaluate intervertebral disc (IVD) abnormalities. Further, these images were subjected to the Tissue Quant algorithm to quantify muscle atrophy and fat deposition. Results: Sagittal section images showed diffuse bulges in the IVD of 28 patients with CBP rather than IVD extrusion or protrusion. Decreased multifidus CSA and a marginal increase in CSA of other paraspinal muscles were observed in CBP patients along with significant fat infiltration within the paraspinal muscles. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a bilateral decrease in the CSA of multifidus muscles in patients with CBP compared with healthy individuals. In contrast, a slight increase in CSA was noted in the remaining paraspinal muscles, which may be due to reduced muscle mass and increased interfascicular fatty infiltration. Evaluating the manifestations of each paraspinal muscle and subsequent strengthening of the concerned muscle should be targeted for treating CBP.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214854X24000414Paraspinal musclesMultifidusSpinal degenerationLow back painImaging
spellingShingle Hosapatna Mamatha
Kumar Megur Ramakrishna Bhat
Othman Hakum Said
Lokadolalu Chandrachar Prasanna
A comparative imaging analysis of paraspinal muscles in healthy individuals and patients with chronic low back pain
Translational Research in Anatomy
Paraspinal muscles
Multifidus
Spinal degeneration
Low back pain
Imaging
title A comparative imaging analysis of paraspinal muscles in healthy individuals and patients with chronic low back pain
title_full A comparative imaging analysis of paraspinal muscles in healthy individuals and patients with chronic low back pain
title_fullStr A comparative imaging analysis of paraspinal muscles in healthy individuals and patients with chronic low back pain
title_full_unstemmed A comparative imaging analysis of paraspinal muscles in healthy individuals and patients with chronic low back pain
title_short A comparative imaging analysis of paraspinal muscles in healthy individuals and patients with chronic low back pain
title_sort comparative imaging analysis of paraspinal muscles in healthy individuals and patients with chronic low back pain
topic Paraspinal muscles
Multifidus
Spinal degeneration
Low back pain
Imaging
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214854X24000414
work_keys_str_mv AT hosapatnamamatha acomparativeimaginganalysisofparaspinalmusclesinhealthyindividualsandpatientswithchroniclowbackpain
AT kumarmegurramakrishnabhat acomparativeimaginganalysisofparaspinalmusclesinhealthyindividualsandpatientswithchroniclowbackpain
AT othmanhakumsaid acomparativeimaginganalysisofparaspinalmusclesinhealthyindividualsandpatientswithchroniclowbackpain
AT lokadolaluchandracharprasanna acomparativeimaginganalysisofparaspinalmusclesinhealthyindividualsandpatientswithchroniclowbackpain
AT hosapatnamamatha comparativeimaginganalysisofparaspinalmusclesinhealthyindividualsandpatientswithchroniclowbackpain
AT kumarmegurramakrishnabhat comparativeimaginganalysisofparaspinalmusclesinhealthyindividualsandpatientswithchroniclowbackpain
AT othmanhakumsaid comparativeimaginganalysisofparaspinalmusclesinhealthyindividualsandpatientswithchroniclowbackpain
AT lokadolaluchandracharprasanna comparativeimaginganalysisofparaspinalmusclesinhealthyindividualsandpatientswithchroniclowbackpain