Intramuscular fat is present in cervical multifidus but not soleus in patients with chronic whiplash associated disorders

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
File version

Version of Record (VoR)

Author(s)
Pedler, Ashley
McMahon, Katie
Galloway, Graham
Durbridge, Gail
Sterling, Michele
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
2018
Size
File type(s)
Location
Abstract

The presence of intramuscular fat (IMF) in the cervical spine muscles of patients with whiplash associated disorders (WAD) has been consistently found. The mechanisms underlying IMF are not clear but preliminary evidence implicates a relationship with stress system responses. We hypothesised that if systemic stress system responses do play a role then IMF would be present in muscles remote to the cervical spine. We aimed to investigate if IMF are present in muscle tissue remote (soleus) to the cervical spine in people with chronic WAD. A secondary aim was to investigate associations between IMF and posttraumatic stress symptom levels. Forty-three people with chronic WAD (25 female) and 16 asymptomatic control participants (11 female) participated. Measures of pain, disability and posttraumatic stress symptoms were collected from the WAD participants. Both groups underwent MRI measures of IMF in cervical multifidus and the right soleus muscle. There was significantly greater IMF in cervical multifidus in patients with WAD and moderate/severe disability compared to controls (p = 0.009). There was no difference in multifidus IMF between the mild and moderate/severe disability WAD groups (p = 0.64), or the control and mild WAD groups (p = 0.21). IMF in the right soleus was not different between the groups (p = 0.47). In the WAD group, we found no correlation between PDS symptoms and cervical multifidus IMF or between PDS symptoms and soleus IMF. Global differences in IMF are not a feature of chronic WAD, with differences in IMF limited to the cervical spine musculature. While the mechanisms for the development of IMF in the cervical spine following whiplash injury remain unclear, our data indicate that local factors more likely contribute to these differences.

Journal Title

PLoS One

Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume

13

Issue

5

Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement

© 2018 Pedler et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject

Clinical sciences not elsewhere classified

Persistent link to this record
Citation
Collections