Is Your Multifidus Muscle Fried? How Would Your Know?

I’ve blogged a number of times about the multifidus muscle, an important stabilizer of the spine that most patients with low back pain have never heard about. Today’s video was inspired by a patient I saw in clinic this past week who had an interesting MRI. He had a fusion in his low back while young and then they removed the hardware. His MRI was bizarre, in that one side had the multifidus muscle completely gone. My guess is that the nerve to the muscle had been injured in one of the surgeries. As a result, I was interested to see what his exam looked like. Just like many patients I see, he was unable to maintain rotational stability when he was face down and extending his hip. I checked this with ultrasound, which showed internally what I was seeing on exam. I thought to myself, how could I explain this to this patient? Since I see it all the time, how can I explain it to other patients? Hence the video above.

If you’ve never heard of this muscle before, take a few minutes to review the stability section of our practice’s e-book, Orthopedics 2.0. This explains the whole thing in much more detail. Click above and enjoy!

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Chris Centeno, MD is a specialist in regenerative medicine and the new field of Interventional Orthopedics. Centeno pioneered orthopedic stem cell procedures in 2005 and is responsible for a large amount of the published research on stem cell use for orthopedic applications. View Profile

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NOTE: This blog post provides general information to help the reader better understand regenerative medicine, musculoskeletal health, and related subjects. All content provided in this blog, website, or any linked materials, including text, graphics, images, patient profiles, outcomes, and information, are not intended and should not be considered or used as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please always consult with a professional and certified healthcare provider to discuss if a treatment is right for you.

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