Muscle Changes in Low Back Pain from Disc Herniation
Author Information
Author(s): Purushotham Shilpa, Hodson Nathan, Greig Carolyn, Gardner Adrian, Falla Deborah
Primary Institution: University of Birmingham
Hypothesis
There would be atrophy of both type I and type II fibres in the affected multifidus muscle compared to unaffected muscle.
Conclusion
Lumbar disc herniation primarily impacts the pathological status of the multifidus muscle rather than its fibre phenotype or size.
Supporting Evidence
- The study found no significant differences in muscle fibre size between affected and unaffected multifidus muscles.
- Pathological fibres were more prevalent in the affected multifidus muscle.
- Weak negative correlations were found between type I fibre size and pain intensity.
Takeaway
This study looked at muscles in people with back pain from a slipped disc and found that the muscles had more damage but not necessarily smaller or different types of muscle fibres.
Methodology
Four muscle biopsies were collected from each of 30 surgical participants, and immunohistochemistry was performed on tissue sections.
Potential Biases
No bias or error in patient selection or recruitment strategy was reported.
Limitations
The study did not analyze differences in muscle microscopy between males and females due to a mismatch in participant numbers.
Participant Demographics
30 participants (11 men, 19 women) with a mean age of 46.9 years.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Confidence Interval
95%
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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