Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Aug 1;23(1):734.
doi: 10.1186/s12891-022-05692-0.

Age- and sex-dependent differences in the morphology and composition of paraspinal muscles between subjects with and without lumbar degenerative diseases

Rufeng Huang  1   2 , Fumin Pan  1   2 , Chao Kong  1   2 , Shibao Lu  3   4
Affiliations

Age- and sex-dependent differences in the morphology and composition of paraspinal muscles between subjects with and without lumbar degenerative diseases

Rufeng Huang et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. .

Abstract

Background: The quality of the paraspinal muscles has been recommended as a surrogate marker for the evaluation of the severity of the lumbar degenerative diseases (LDD). The purpose of this study is to determine the age- and sex-dependent differences in the morphology and composition of the paraspinal muscles between LDD and asymptomatic subjects.

Methods: We analyzed data from 370 patients and 327 asymptomatic volunteers aged between 18-85 years. The measurement of the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the erector spinae, multifidus, and psoas at the L4/5-disc level was performed by the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The fatty infiltration ratio (FI %) of the multifidus and erector spinae was calculated.

Results: FI % of the lumbar paraspinal muscles were significantly and positively correlated with the severity of LDD instead of the CSA. Males had greater CSA than females, and females showed higher FI % than males in the paraspinal muscles. With the increase of age, the CSA of the lumbar paraspinal muscles gradually decreased, and the psoas showed the most significant decreasing trend. However, the FI % gradually increased in both LDD and asymptomatic groups with aging.

Conclusion: Age- and sex-dependent differences were found in the morphology and composition of the paraspinal muscles between subjects with and without LDD. Further long-term follow up investigations and basic studies will continue to confirm the natural history of the paraspinal muscles with aging and their association with LDD.

Keywords: Age- and sex-dependent differences; Asymptomatic subjects; Low back pain; Lumbar degenerative disease; Paraspinal muscles.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no financial and non-financial competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The measurement of multifidus, erector spinae, and psoas
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The differences in the fatty infiltration rate of the paraspinal muscles among the different age strata and sex in the LDD (lumbar degenerative disease) and asymptomatic groups. *Statistical significance at the level of 0.05
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The differences in the fatty infiltration rate of the paraspinal muscles between LDD (lumbar degenerative disease) and asymptomatic groups in different strata and sex. * Statistical significance at the level of 0.05
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Vos T, et al. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet. 2016;388:1545–1602. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(16)31678-6. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Battie MC, Joshi AB, Gibbons LE, Group, I. D. S. P. Degenerative Disc Disease: What is in a Name? Spine Phila (Pa 1976) 2019;44:1523–1529. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000003103. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Endean A, Palmer KT, Coggon D. Potential of magnetic resonance imaging findings to refine case definition for mechanical low back pain in epidemiological studies: a systematic review. Spine Phila (Pa 1976) 2011;36:160–169. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181cd9adb. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barker KL, Shamley DR, Jackson D. Changes in the cross-sectional area of multifidus and psoas in patients with unilateral back pain: the relationship to pain and disability. Spine Phila (Pa 1976) 2004;29:E515–519. doi: 10.1097/01.brs.0000144405.11661.eb. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fortin M, Lazary A, Varga PP, Battie MC. Association between paraspinal muscle morphology, clinical symptoms and functional status in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. Eur Spine J. 2017;26:2543–2551. doi: 10.1007/s00586-017-5228-y. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources