ABSTRACT
Objectives To investigate the relationship between the degeneration of lumbar multifidus mus-cles and facet joint osteoarthritis(FJOA)by MRI. Methods This retrospective study included 248 patients with low back and leg pain,aged from 55 to 70.MRI was used to measure TCSA,FCSA,fCSA and FI% of the L4~5and L5~S1segments on the both sides of their multifidus muscle in the cross section in T2weighted image.All the cases were divided into three grades:grade 0~1,grade 2 and grade 3 according to their FJOA grades. The relationship between the FJOA grades at the same level and TCSA,FCSA and FI% of both sides was analyzed retrospectively. Results There were significant differences of the FI% of the multifidus muscle between both sides of the two seg-ments(P < 0.05);The TCSA,FCSA and fCSA of the left and right multifidus muscle all showed an increasing trend from L4~5to L5~S1segment and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05);the FI% of two sides of multifidus muscle was negatively correlated with the right FJOA grade at L5~S1segment(P<0.05).There was a re-lationship between females and right FJOA grade at L5~S1segment(all P < 0.05). Whereas,no significant differ-ence was found in other parameters(all P>0.05).Conclusions There is no relationship between the cross-sec-tional area of the multifidus muscle and the FJOA grade. The higher FI% degree of multifidus muscle in the L5~S1 segment is accompanied with a lower grade of FJOA.The degeneration of multifidus muscle occurs earlier than the degeneration of articular process joints,so the earlier exercise of lumbar muscle is recommended.
ABSTRACT
Objective To observe any differences in the morphology of the lumbar multifidus (LM) muscles between normal subjects and persons with chronic lumbar disc herniation (CLDH).Methods Thirty-two persons with CLDH and thirty-five matched,healthy controls performed various maneuvers in prone lying.Ultrasound imaging was used to measure the antero-posterior diameter (A-P),lateral diameter (Lat),cross sectional area (CSA) and flattening ratio (FR) of the bilateral LM muscles at the L4/5 level.Results In the control subjects,A-P,Lat,CSA and FR were not significantly different between the left and right sides.In those with CLDH,A-P,Lat and CSA were significantly smaller on the painful side than on the no-pain side,and this difference showed asymmetry between the two sides.Average A-P,Lat,FR and muscle CSA were all significantly smaller among the CLDH subjects on both sides compared with the controls.Conclusion CLDH induces asymmetric local atrophy of the bilateral multifidus muscles which can be detected and measured using ultrasound.