The British journal of radiology
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To investigate the changes in paraspinal muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and composition, using the digital data from lumbar spine MRIs of patients with acute and chronic low back pain (LBP). ⋯ There are specific paraspinal muscles undergoing atrophy and fatty infiltration in patients with acute and chronic LBP on the symptomatic side. The CSA of the MF muscle decreased at multiple levels on the symptomatic side in patients with chronic unilateral LBP, which may occur prior to fatty infiltration.