Evidence synthesis showed limited evidence supporting poor baseline transversus abdominis contraction thickness ratio as a treatment effect modifier favoring motor control exercise .
Limited evidence supported that high baseline transversus abdominis lateral slide was associated with higher pain intensity after various exercise interventions at 1-year follow-up .
However , there was limited evidence for the absence of relation between the contraction thickness ratio of transversus abdominis or anticipatory onset of lateral abdominal muscles at baseline and the short- or long-term LBP intensity after exercise interventions .
There was conflicting evidence for a relation between baseline percent thickness change of lumbar multifidus during contraction and the clinical outcomes of patients after various conservative treatments .
Although individual reports suggest that baseline morphometry or activity of transversus abdominis or lumbar multifidus predict clinical outcome of low back pain ( LBP ) , a related systematic review is unavailable .
Therefore , this review summarized evidence regarding the predictive value of these muscular characteristics .
Asymmetric Atrophy of Multifidus Muscle in Patients With Unilateral Lumbosacral Radiculopathy
Study Design . Prospect i ve case-control study of multifidus muscle atrophy in 39 patients with unilateral lumbosacral radiculopathy and lumbosacral disc herniation and 20 controls . Objective . To evaluate quantitatively the asymmetry of multifidus muscles in unilateral lumbosacral radiculopathy with disc herniation ( herniated intervertebral disc ; HIVD ) by using magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI ) . Summary of Background Data . Histologic and morphologic changes of multifidus muscles have been reported in lumbosacral disc herniation , but there are few imaging studies on the changes of multifidus muscles in unilateral radiculopathy . Methods . Bilateral multifidus muscles in L3–L4 , L4–L5 , and L5–S1 levels were detected in fast spin-echo T1 axial MRI images . The total cross-sectional area ( CSA ) of multifidus muscles ( TMA ) and the density of pure muscle CSA ( PMA ) were measured by a computerized analysis program , and the ratios of PMA to TMA ( PMA/TMA ) and the PMA ratios of involved to uninvolved sides ( IMA/UMA ) were calculated . The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the electrodiagnosis results : a radiculopathy ( RAD ) group and an HIVD group without definite radiculopathy . Results . Fourteen patients had lumbosacral radiculopathies ( RAD group ) while 25 had no radiculopathy ( HIVD group ) . No significant difference was found between the RAD and HIVD groups in TMA , PMA , and PMA/TMA . In terms of the criteria for the upper limit of IMA/UMA , 78.6 % in the RAD group had an abnormal IMA/UMA ratio in at least 1 level , compared with 24 % in the HIVD group and 10 % in the control group . Thus , more cases with less muscle volume in the involved side were seen in the RAD group than in the HIVD and control groups . Conclusion . Asymmetry of the multifidus muscles as seen in MRI was a useful finding to assess patients who had unilateral lumbosacral radiculopathy with HIVD . This may reflect the denervation of multifidus muscles in lumbosacral radiculopathy
Evidence synthesis showed limited evidence supporting poor baseline transversus abdominis contraction thickness ratio as a treatment effect modifier favoring motor control exercise .
Limited evidence supported that high baseline transversus abdominis lateral slide was associated with higher pain intensity after various exercise interventions at 1-year follow-up .
However , there was limited evidence for the absence of relation between the contraction thickness ratio of transversus abdominis or anticipatory onset of lateral abdominal muscles at baseline and the short- or long-term LBP intensity after exercise interventions .
There was conflicting evidence for a relation between baseline percent thickness change of lumbar multifidus during contraction and the clinical outcomes of patients after various conservative treatments .
Although individual reports suggest that baseline morphometry or activity of transversus abdominis or lumbar multifidus predict clinical outcome of low back pain ( LBP ) , a related systematic review is unavailable .
Therefore , this review summarized evidence regarding the predictive value of these muscular characteristics .