New possibilities of ultrasound in predicting low back pain in adolescent males – pilot study

To determine the possible relationship between low back pain (LBP) and asymmetry of the cross-sectional area of the multifidus spinal muscle as measured by US in physically active and inactive adolescent boys.

Materials and methods:
In total, 45 adolescent boys were examined – 28 boys were physically active and 17 physically inactive. Height, weight, occurrence of back pain were recorded, and the spinal multifidus cross-sectional area was measured by US. The results were listed as mean, standard deviation, and percentage change of results. The difference between two samples was deducted using a two-tailed Student t-test (the level of significance was p < 0.05).

Results:
The results showed that the multifidus muscle size was larger in the physically inactive group (4.86 ± 1.91 cm2) than the physically active group (4.06 ± 1.42 cm2). The non-significant asymmetry expressed as a percentage of the cross-sectional area of the multifidus spinal muscle was found between boys who were physically active and physically inactive with back pain: 17.7 (14.1–21.0)% and 10.9 (3.3–18.5)%, resp.; and also without back pain: 6.9 (6.6–7.4)% and 7.5 (6.9–8.0)%, resp.; but the significant asymmetry expressed as a percentage of the cross-sectional area of the multifidus spinal muscle was found between boys with back pain and boys without back pain in both the physically active (p < 0.05) and physically (p < 0.05) inactive groups.

Conclusion:
The pilot study showed that there might be a relationship between back pain and asymmetry of the cross-sectional area of the multifidus spinal muscle. Further studies are needed to confirm these results.