Shear wave elastography based analysis of changes in fascial and muscle stiffness in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain

作者：Kun Liu, Tong Zhao, Yang Zhang, Lili Chen, Haoran Zhang, Xiqiang Xu, Zenong Yuan, Qingyu Zhang, Jun Dong · 发表于：Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.3389/fbioe.2024.1476396 · 被引用次数：19 · 研究领域：Myofascial pain diagnosis and treatment、Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation、Tendon Structure and Treatment

Background The quantitative assessment of individual muscle and fascial stiffness in patients with low back pain remains a challenge. This study aimed to compare the stiffness of the thoracolumbar fascia (TLF), erector spinae (ES), and multifidus (MF) in patients with and without chronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP) using shear wave elastography (SWE). It also sought to explore the relationship between muscle and fascial stiffness and the levels of pain and dysfunction in patients with CNLBP. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 30 patients with CNLBP (age 27.40 ± 4.57 years, 19 males, 11 females, BMI 22.96 ± 2.55 kg/m 2 ) and 32 healthy controls (age 27.94 ± 4.94 years, 15 males, 17 females, BMI 22.52 ± 2.26 kg/m 2 ) were enrolled. Stiffness of the TLF, ES, and MF was measured using SWE, and Young’s modulus values were recorded. The numeric rating scale (NRS) for quantifying pain intensity and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores were recorded for the case group to examine their correlations with the resilience index. Results The CNLBP group exhibited significantly higher shear modulus values at the L 4-5 bilateral TLF (left: p = 0.014, d = 0.64; right: p = 0.002, d = 0.86), ES (left: p = 0.013, d = 0.66; right: p = 0.027, d = 0.58), and MF (left: p = 0.009, d = 0.69; right: p = 0.002, d = 0.85) compared to the control group. Comparable findings were observed for the right ES ( p = 0.026, d = 0.59) and left MF ( p = 0.020, η 2 = 0.09) at L 1-2 . Strong correlat...