MRI Correlation between Lumbar Disc Herniation and Multifidus Muscle Degeneration

Abstract Background The lumbar multifidus muscle (LMM) is the largest group of posterior muscles in the lumbosacral region. it specifically acts to maintain segmental stability of the spine, maintain lumbar physiological lordosis, control facet joint movement, and adjust the distribution of the intervertebral load and pressure, this study is to investigate if correlation could exist between multifidus muscles degeneration and lumbar disc herniation (LDH), that may be a process of mutual influence and interaction. Aim of the Work To investigate the correlation between lumbar disc herniation (LDH) and multifidus muscle degeneration via the comparison of the cross-sectional area and degree of fatty infiltration of the lumbar multifidus muscle. Patients and Methods This study is a retrospective study. The study will be conducted at Ain Shams University Hospitals. The main source of data for this study will be the retrospectively conducted scans and clinical history of the patients referred to the department of Radiology, Ain Shams University Hospitals. Results the patients with ULDH are significantly different from healthy people in the measurement indexes of the multifidus muscles. Moreover, the mean and range of relevant indicators are smaller. The results indicate that multifidus muscle atrophy is closely related to upper lumbar disc herniation. both the cross-sectional area and the degree of fatty infiltration exhibited excellent evaluation efficiency. Clinical practice had often neglected the paravertebral muscles, and it was not well protected during spinal surgeries in the past. This study also confirmed that there is significant atrophy of the multifidus muscle in patients with ULDH. Future clinical practise should emphasise on the negative effects of multifidus muscle atrophy. Reinforcing the lumbar spine muscles can help improve this atrophy, which could benefit the prevention and rehabilitation of ULDH. Conclusion A relationship could exist between multifidus muscles degeneration and ULDH entailing a process of mutual influence and interaction; however, prospective studies should confirm this. Evaluation of multifidus muscles should be considered when using MRI scans to assess the ULDH patients. Lumbar muscle strengthening training could prevent and improve muscle atrophy and degeneration.