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 .
Changes in the Cross-Sectional Area of Multifidus and Psoas in Patients With Unilateral Back Pain: The Relationship to Pain and Disability
Study Design . Prospect i ve , cross-sectional observational study . Objectives . The aim of this study was to determine if there was an association between wasting of psoas and multifidus as observed on MRI scans and the presenting symptoms , reported pathology , pain , or disability of a cohort of patients presenting with unilateral low back pain . Summary of Background Data . Current physiotherapy practice is often based on localized spine stabilizing muscle exercises ; most attention has been focused on transversus abdominus and multifidus with relatively little on psoas . Method . Fifty consecutive patients presenting to a back pain triage clinic with unilateral low back pain lasting more than 12 weeks were recruited . The cross-sectional surface area ( CSA ) of the muscles was measured . Duration of symptoms , rating of pain , self-reported function , and the presence of neural compression were recorded . Results . Data analysis compared the CSA between the symptomatic and asymptomatic sides . There was a statistically significant difference in CSA between the sides ( P < 0.001 ) . There was a positive correlation between the percentage decrease in CSA of psoas on the affected side and with the rating of pain ( rho = 0.608 , P < 0.01 ) , reported nerve root compression ( rho = 0.812 , P < 0.01 ) , and the duration of symptoms ( rho = 0.886 , P < 0.01 ) . There was an association between decrease in the CSA of multifidus and duration of symptoms . Conclusions . Atrophy of multifidus has been used as one of the rationale s for spine stabilization exercises . The evidence of coexisting atrophy of psoas and multifidus suggests that a future area for study should be selective exercise training of psoas , which is less commonly used in clinical practice
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 .