Home-based exercises have been on the rise recently. This pilot study aimed to assess the adherence and effect of a home-based rehabilitation programme using telemonitoring in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain (CNLBP). Twenty-seven patients with CNLBP were enrolled in the study, each of whom underwent a neurological assessment, including patient-oriented measures and a functional assessment—a battery of tests that comprehensively evaluated trunk muscle function. The rehabilitation programme lasted 18 weeks and included daily home-based exercises. A mobile application or an exercise diary was used to monitor compliance. Adherence to the programme was excellent for both the diary and mobile application groups, with 82.3% in the diary group exercising at least once a day and 72.9% twice a day, and 94.8% in the mobile application group exercising at least once a day and 86.6% twice a day. Both patient-oriented and functional outcomes improved significantly; however, the relative changes of the parameters in these two groups did not correlate, which supports the idea that trunk muscle function does not directly relate to patient complaints and that CNLBP is a multifactorial issue. This model of rehabilitation programme should be used in clinical practice, as its adherence and effectiveness seem noticeable.

A comprehensive assessment of trunk function, including the lumbar extensor muscles, appears to be important in various conditions affecting axial musculature. This pilot cross-sectional observational study aimed to define a battery of tests that comprehensively assess trunk muscle function (strength and muscular endurance). Sixty subjects without low back pain (LBP) underwent measurement of isometric lower back extensor strength using a hand-held dynamometer (HHD) in three positions; measurement of respiratory muscle strength; and Biering-Sørensen, prone-plank, and side-bridge tests. The repeatability, short-term and long-term reliability using the HHD device in different postural positions was confirmed. The greatest isometric lower back extensor strength was generated in the sitting position by male subjects. Time of effort in the Biering-Sørensen test was longer in women and older subgroups than in men and younger individuals, although this was not the case for the other two muscular endurance tests. This pilot monitoring of trunk muscle strength and endurance in healthy volunteers may lead to a better understanding of trunk muscle function. Based on this methodological background, the authors aim to use the defined battery of tests in their further studies in a group of patients with LBP and certain neuromuscular diseases to verify its usefulness in clinical practice.

Background: Lumbosacral plexopathy caused by radiotherapy is a rare but severe consequence of cancer treatment. This condition often leads to varying degrees of sensory and motor impairment. Neurological complications, which are typically permanent, manifest a long period after irradiation. Case presentation: We describe a case of progressive lower extremity weakness and sensory impairment in a woman who had been effectively treated with radiotherapy for cervical cancer with development 36 years after irradiation. The electrophysiological assessment revealed a subacute bilateral axonal lesion of the lumbosacral plexus. None of the clinical manifestations, serology, cerebrospinal fluid or imaging data discovered an explanation other than radiation-induced lumbosacral plexopathy (RILP). Conclusions: This case demonstrates that RILP may emerge more than 30 years after the radiotherapy.

Muscle ageing involves structural and functional changes of muscles, mainly their replacement by fatty and fibrous tissue accompanied by the loss of muscle function. Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) methods have potential to provide biomarkers of degenerative changes in muscles with ageing. To assess the relationship between qMRI parameters of lumbar paraspinal muscles (LPMs) and their function and evolution with ageing in healthy subjects, 90 volunteers underwent MRI of lumbar spine and LPM utilising a 6-point Dixon gradient echo sequence. Using manual muscle segmentation, fat fraction (FF) and functional muscle volume (FMV) were calculated for LPM, with the psoas muscle (PS) as a control muscle. Functional parameters of LPM (strength and endurance) were assessed. Based on our data analysis, both FF and FMV of LPM correlate significantly with maximal isometric lumbar extensor muscle strength, but not with endurance. With ageing, FF of LPM increases by 34% per decade, while FF of PS increases by 17% per decade. This difference between LPM and the PS in the rate of FF increase is significant. FMV evinces a decreasing trend in both LPM and PS. However, only FMV of PS decreases significantly by 7% per decade. Our cross-sectional study shows a significant correlation between qMRI parameters of LPM and their strength. FF appears to be a biomarker of muscle ageing with different ageing patterns of distinct muscle groups: LPM and PS.