The Degeneration of Paraspinal Muscles and Its Correlation with the Postoperative Clinical Outcomes Following Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (MIS-TLIF)

Continuous atrophy was observed in both psoas major muscle and lumbar posterior muscles of fused segments as well as adjacent segments. However, by the end of the 12-month period after the operation, an improvement in fatty degeneration was noted specifically in the lumbar posterior muscles of the fused segment. The volume and steatosis rate of lumbar posterior muscles were found to have a significant correlation with clinical outcome.