Muscle Composition as a Novel Prognostic Tool for Pain, Frailty, and Sarcopenia

A clinical observation common to both sarcopenia and frailty is compositional changes to skeletal muscles. Automatic segmentation and quantification of skeletal muscle composition using imaging modalities such as computed tomography or MRI have indicated compositional changes are a sensitive biomarker for various diseases and disorders. This article examines the integration of clinical investigations that can accurately assess changes in muscle composition, and reports on the use of imaging tools. These technologies and their implementation have the potential to inform assessment and treatment where self-reported pain, sarcopenia, and frailty are of interest, with implications for improved function on patient-by-patient basis.