Analysis of Biomechanical Properties of the Lumbar Extensor Myofascia in Elderly Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain and That in Healthy People

There is limited research on the changes of biomechanical characteristics of the lumbar extensor myofascia in elderly patients with chronic low back pain. This study aimed to compare the biomechanical properties of the lumbar extensor myofascia in elderly patients with chronic low back pain and healthy people when resting and to analyze the relationship between the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, visual analog scale (VAS) score, Cobb angle, and disease course and the biomechanical characteristics of the lumbar extensor myofascia. This case-control study included 40 elderly patients with chronic low back pain and 40 healthy volunteers. MyotonPRO was used to measure the biomechanical properties of the bilateral lumbar extensor myofascia (at L3/L4 level) in all participants, and the reliability of the MyotonPRO test was measured. Cobb angle was measured from lumbar computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging data. JOA and VAS scores were used to evaluate lumbar function and pain. We found that muscle tone, stiffness, and elasticity of the left and right lumbar extensor myofascia in patients with chronic low back pain were very reliable among different operators. The average lumbar extensor muscle tone and stiffness were significantly higher in patients with chronic low back pain than those in healthy controls. The average elasticity of the lumbar extensor myofascia of patients with chronic low back pain was significantly lower than that of the healthy controls. The JOA score was negatively correlated, while the VAS score was positively correlated with the mean values of tone, stiffness, and elasticity of the bilateral lumbar extensor myofascia (logarithmic decrement). Disease course had no significant correlation with muscle tone, stiffness, and elasticity of the lumbar extensor myofascia. No significant correlation was found between Cobb angle and muscle tone, stiffness, and elasticity of the lumbar extensor myofascia in either group.

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Prevalence of gluteus medius weakness in people with chronic low back pain compared to healthy controls

European Spine Journal ◽

10.1007/s00586-015-4027-6 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 1258-1265 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Nicholas A. Cooper ◽

Kelsey M. Scavo ◽

Kyle J. Strickland ◽

Natti Tipayamongkol ◽

Jeffrey D. Nicholson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Chronic Low Back Pain ◽

Gluteus Medius ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Low Back

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Perception of verticality is altered in people with severe chronic low back pain compared to healthy controls: A cross-sectional study

Musculoskeletal Science and Practice ◽

10.1016/j.msksp.2019.102074 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 45 ◽

pp. 102074 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Muhammad Alrwaily ◽

Patrick J. Sparto ◽

Susan L. Whitney

Keyword(s):

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Chronic Low Back Pain ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Low Back ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Perception Of Verticality

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Acupuncture Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain Reverses An Abnormal Brain Default Mode Network in Correlation with Clinical Pain Relief

Acupuncture in Medicine ◽

10.1136/acupmed-2013-010423 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 102-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Ji Li ◽

Jun-Hai Zhang ◽

Tao Yi ◽

Wei-Jun Tang ◽

Song-Wei Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Back Pain ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Back Pain ◽

Default Mode Network ◽

Chronic Low Back Pain ◽

Therapeutic Effects ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Low Back ◽

Default Mode ◽

Clinical Pain

Background Acupuncture is gaining in popularity as a treatment for chronic low back pain (cLBP); however, its therapeutic mechanisms remain controversial, partly because of the absence of an objective way of measuring subjective pain. Resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI) has demonstrated aberrant default mode network (DMN) connectivity in patients with chronic pain, and also shown that acupuncture increases DMN connectivity in pain-modulator and affective-emotional brain regions of healthy subjects. Objective This study sought to explore how cLBP influences the DMN and whether, and how, the altered DMN connectivity is reversed after acupuncture for clinical pain. Methods RsfMRI data from 20 patients with cLBP, before and after 4 weeks of treatment, and 10 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (without treatment) were analysed using independent components analyses to determine connectivity within the DMN, and combined with correlation analyses to compute covariance between changes in DMN connectivity and changes in clinical pain. Visual analogue scale data were assessed to rate clinical pain levels. Results Less connectivity within the DMN was found in patients with cLBP than in healthy controls, mainly in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus and precuneus. After acupuncture, patients’ connectivities were restored almost to the levels seen in healthy controls. Furthermore, reductions in clinical pain were correlated with increases in DMN connectivity. Conclusions This result suggests that modulation of the DMN by acupuncture is related to its therapeutic effects on cLBP. Imaging of the DMN provides an objective method for assessment of the effects of acupuncture-induced analgesia.

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Are there differences in the dual-task walking variability of minimum toe clearance in chronic low back pain patients and healthy controls?

Gait & Posture ◽

10.1016/j.gaitpost.2016.06.026 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 49 ◽

pp. 97-101 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Dennis Hamacher ◽

Daniel Hamacher ◽

Fabian Herold ◽

Lutz Schega

Keyword(s):

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Dual Task ◽

Chronic Low Back Pain ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Low Back ◽

Pain Patients

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Differentiating temporal electromyographic waveforms between those with chronic low back pain and healthy controls

Clinical Biomechanics ◽

10.1016/s0268-0033(02)00103-1 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 17 (9-10) ◽

pp. 621-629 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

C.L. Hubley-Kozey ◽

M.J. Vezina

Keyword(s):

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Chronic Low Back Pain ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Low Back

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The Characteristics of Muscle Tone and Stiffness in Young Adults with Chronic Low Back Pain

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise ◽

10.1249/01.mss.0000563146.73731.8f ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 51 (Supplement) ◽

pp. 886

Author(s):

Minjia Wang ◽

Bin Yang ◽

Guohan Wang ◽

Peijie Liu ◽

Yaozheng Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Chronic Low Back Pain ◽

Muscle Tone ◽

Low Back

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Frequency-Specific Blood Oxygen Level Dependent Oscillations Associated With Pain Relief From Ankle Acupuncture in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain

Frontiers in Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnins.2021.786490 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

Author(s):

Anfeng Xiang ◽

Meiyu Chen ◽

Chuan Qin ◽

Jun Rong ◽

Can Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Pain Relief ◽

Chronic Low Back Pain ◽

Resting State ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Low Back ◽

Acupuncture Analgesia ◽

Mixed Effect ◽

Functional Changes

Objective: Recent advances in brain imaging have deepened our knowledge of the neural activity in distinct brain areas associated with acupuncture analgesia. However, there has not been conclusive research into the frequency-specific resting-state functional changes associated with acupuncture analgesia in patients with chronic pain. Here, we aimed to characterize changes across multiple frequencies of resting-state cortical activity associated with ankle acupuncture stimulation (AAS) in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) and healthy controls.Methods: Twenty seven patients with CLBP and Twenty five age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. Participants received tactile sham acupuncture (TSA) and AAS, respectively. The whole-brain amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in the range 0.01–0.25 Hz was assessed for changes associated with each intervention. Further, a visual analog scale (VAS) was used to collect subjective measures of pain intensity in patients. Linear mixed-effect modeling (LME) was used to examine the mean ALFF values of AAS and TSA between patients and healthy controls.Results: The ALFF was modulated in the default mode network (an increase in the medial prefrontal cortex, and a decrease in the cerebellum/posterior ingulate/parahippocampus, P < 0.01, corrected) in both patients and controls. Decreased ALFF in the bilateral insular was frequency-dependent. Modulations in the cerebellum and right insular were significantly correlated with VAS pain score after AAS (P < 0.01).Conclusion: Hence, frequency-specific resting-state activity in the cerebellum and insular was correlated to AAS analgesia. Our frequency-specific analysis of ALFF may provide novel insights related to pain relief from acupuncture.

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