Investigation of lumbar multifidus muscle, pain, and fear of falling in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis with poor balance

This study aimed to compare the muscle thickness and cross-sectional area (CSA), pain, disability, and fear of falling in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) with and without balance problems. Sixty-four patients diagnosed with LSS by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were included in this cross-sectional study. The patients were divided into poor (n=31) and normal balance (n=33) groups according to the single leg standing test. Low back pain (Numeric rating scale), dynamic balance (Time up and go test), disability (Oswestry disability index) and fear of falling (International fall efficacy scale) in patients with LSS levels were evaluated. Lumbar (L4/5) multifidus muscle thickness and CSA were obtained from MRI images. The poor balance group had a lower L4/5 multifidus thickness (p