Multifidus Fatty Infiltration on MRI

In the first two blog articles we talked about the muscle Multifidus and its importance in spinal stability and decreasing low back pain. We have come across some great research1 which helps visualise the adaptive change that occurs during low back pain. The multifidus actually fills with fatty tissue. This is due to its inactivity and stops the muscle from being effective. It is strongly associated with low back pain.

This image is directly from the referenced journal article. The multifidus are indicated with red arrows and the above image shows normal lumbar multifidus (Left), slight fatty infiltration (Middle) and severe fatty infiltration (Right). So when you’re next working out, sitting on the couch or getting adjusted, think about what is happening to your multifidus. As we said last week, like any muscle if you don’t use it, you will lose it!

Reference
Kjaer P, et al (2007) Are MRI-defined fat infiltration in the multifidus muscles associated with low back pain? BMC Medicine Vol5 (2)