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Published on: November 17, 2023
Multifidus Degeneration, A New Risk Factor for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Case-Control Study
Jiayao Jiang1, Haibin Wang1, Liang Wang1
1Department of Orthopaedics, Changzheng Hospital Affiliated to the Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Objectives:
To analyze whether multifidus degeneration has a relationship with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).
Materials And Methods:
Clinical data of 40 patients with LSS were analyzed retrospectively. Moreover, 40 healthy people were selected as controls. Subjects of both groups underwent a 1.5-T lumbar spinal magnetic resonance imaging scan in our hospital, and then the multifidus muscularity, fatty infiltration ratio, and bilateral asymmetry at L4/5 level on magnetic resonance imaging were measured with ImageJ software to analyze and compare the multifidus parameters between the 2 groups.
Results:
Compared with the control group, the multifidus muscularity was lower, fatty infiltration ratio was greater, and muscle asymmetry was more significant at the L4/5 level in patients with LSS, and the difference between the 2 groups was statistically significant.
Conclusions:
Multifidus degeneration, including reduced volume, increased fatty infiltration, and bilateral muscle asymmetry, has an association with LSS.

