Medicina Fluminensis, Vol. 61 No. 3, 2025.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21860/medflum2025_332191
The Relationship Between Pain Intensity and Disability with the Cross-Sectional Area of the Psoas Major Muscle in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain
Juraj Arbanas
; Sveučilište u Rijeci, Medicinski fakultet, Zavod za anatomiju, Rijeka, Hrvatska
*
Marina Nikolić
; Sveučilište u Rijeci, Medicinski fakultet, Zavod za anatomiju, Rijeka, Hrvatska
Verner Marijančić
; Sveučilište u Rijeci, Fakultet zdravstvenih studija, Katedra za fizioterapiju, Rijeka, Hrvatska
Hrvoje Vlahović
; Sveučilište u Rijeci, Fakultet zdravstvenih studija, Katedra za fizioterapiju, Rijeka, Hrvatska
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
Aim: Psoas major muscle (PM) has an important stabilizing role of the lumbar spine, and given that it is much less subject to atrophic changes during low back pain syndrome (LBS) than other paravertebral muscles, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between pain intensity and disability with the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the PM in people with chronic LBS and determine its impact on the stabilization of the lumbar spine in patients with the mentioned syndrome. Patients and methods: The research was conducted on 42 patients (24 men and 18 women). CSA of the PM was determined on MRI scans at the level of L3/L4, L4/L5 and L5/S1 intervertebral discs. Patients completed questionnaires to determine pain intensity (Visual Analogue Scale) and disability (Roland-Morris and Oswestry Disability Index questionnaires). The relationship between CSA of the PM and pain intensity and disability was examined using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. The level of statistical significance was determined at the P<0.05 level. Results: The results of the research showed a negative correlation between the CSA of the PM and the intensity of pain and disability, which means that increasing the CSA of the muscle leads to a decrease in the intensity of pain and disability in people with chronic LBS. Conclusion: A greater CSA of the PM may lead to a reduction in pain intensity and pain disability in individuals with chronic LBS.
Keywords
low back pain; magnetic resonance imaging; psoas muscle; questionnaires
Hrčak ID:
332191
URI
Publication date:
1.9.2025.
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