Which came first, Muscle Atrophy or LBP?...Pigs solve the chicken or the egg dilemma!
Many studies have shown that the multifidus cross-sectional area decreases in acute and chronic low back pain…BUT…do the multifidus changes precede or follow injury?
Since no medical ethics committee would allow this study to be performed on live human subjects, 21 pigs received one of three experimental lesions.
i) An incision into the L3-L4 disc
ii) Transection of the L3 dorsal ramus medial branch
iii) A sham procedure (only a skin and soft tissue incision)
The lumbar multifidus cross-sectional area of the 21 pigs was measured with ultrasound before and 3 or 6 days after lesions
Posted on: May 22, 2008
Categories: Lumbar Spine