Multifidus Degeneration, A New Risk Factor for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Case-Control Study.

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.