Magnitude of spinal muscle damage is not statistically associated with exercise-induced low back pain intensity

Background contextFindings on imaging of noncontractile anatomic abnormalities and the intensity of low back pain have weak associations because of false-positive rates among asymptomatic individuals. This association might be stronger for contractile tissues.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between location and reports of pain intensity in the low back and exercise-induced muscle damage to the lumbar paraspinal muscles.Study designNondiagnostic observational study in a laboratory setting.MethodsDelayed onset muscle soreness was induced in the low back of healthy pain-free volunteers. Measures of pain intensity (100-mm visual analog scale [VAS]) and location (area on the pain diagram) were taken before and 48 hours after exercise. Muscle damage was quantified using mechanical pain thresholds, motor performance deficits, and transverse relaxation time (T2)–weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Changes pre- to postexercise in signal intensity on T2-weighted imaging within the erector spinae, pain intensity, pain area, mechanical pain threshold, and isometric torque were assessed using paired t tests. Bivariate correlations were conducted to assess associations among muscle damage, pain intensity, and pain drawing area.ResultsTwenty participants volunteered (11 women; average age, 22.3 years; average body mass index, 23.5) for study participation. Reports of pain intensity at 48 hours ranged from 0 to 59 mm on the VAS. Muscle damage was confirmed by reductions in mechanical threshold (p=.011) and motor performance (p<.001) and by changes in T2-weighted MRI (p=.007). This study was powered to find an association of at least r=0.5 to be statistically significant. Correlations of continuous variables revealed no significant correlations between pain intensity and measures of muscle damage (ranging between −0.075 and 0.151). There was a significant association between the remaining torque deficit at 48 hours and pain area.ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate that there was no association between the magnitude of muscle damage in the lumbar erector spinae and reported pain intensity in the low back. In future studies, larger cohorts may report statistically significant associations, but our data suggest that there will be low magnitude potentially indicating limited clinical relevance.