Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Lumbar muscle size and symmetry in dogs with lumbosacral stenosis
By Henderson, A L et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2015·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Lumbar paraspinal muscle transverse area and symmetry in dogs with and without degenerative lumbosacral stenosis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with degenerative lumbosacral stenosis, a condition affecting the lower spine, showed smaller muscle sizes in their lower back compared to healthy dogs. This study looked at the lumbar muscles using MRI scans and found that the affected dogs had less muscle mass, which could be linked to their condition. While the differences in muscle symmetry were noted, they were not consistent enough to draw firm conclusions. Understanding these muscle changes may help veterinarians better manage dogs with this spine issue.
People also search for: dog back pain · degenerative lumbosacral stenosis treatment · dog muscle loss symptoms
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether dogs with degenerative lumbosacral stenosis have decreased lumbar paraspinal muscle transverse area and symmetry compared with control dogs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional study comparing muscles in transverse T2-weighted magnetic resonance images for nine dogs with and nine dogs without degenerative -lumbosacral stenosis. Mean transverse area was measured for the lumbar multifidus and sacrocaudalis dorsalis lateralis muscles bilaterally and the L7 vertebral body at the level of the caudal endplate. Transverse areas of both muscle groups relative to L7 and asymmetry indices were compared between study populations using independent t tests. RESULTS: Mean muscle-to-L7 transverse area ratios were significantly smaller in the degenerative lumbosacral stenosis group compared with those in the control group in both lumbar multifidus (0·84 ±0·26 versus 1·09 ±0·25; P=0·027) and sacrocaudalis dorsalis lateralis (0·5 ±0·15 versus 0·68 ±0·12; P=0·005) muscles. Mean asymmetry indices were higher for both muscles in the group with degenerative lumbosacral stenosis than in the control group, but highly variable and the difference was not statistically significant. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: These findings suggest that dogs with degenerative lumbosacral stenosis have decreased lumbar paraspinal muscle mass that may be a cause or consequence of the -syndrome. Understanding altered paraspinal muscle characteristics may improve understanding of the -pathophysiology and management options for degenerative lumbosacral stenosis.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26310387/