The qualitative grading of muscle fat infiltration in whiplash using fat and water magnetic resonance imaging.

Background Context: The development of muscle fat infiltration (MFI) in the neck muscles is associated with poor functional recovery following whiplash injury. Custom software and time-consuming manual segmentation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is required for quantitative analysis and presents as a barrier for clinical translation.

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to establish a qualitative MRI measure for MFI and evaluate its ability to differentiate between individuals with severe whiplash-associated disorder (WAD), mild or moderate WAD, and healthy controls.

An Investigation of Fat Infiltration of the Multifidus Muscle in Patients With Severe Neck Symptoms Associated With Chronic Whiplash-Associated Disorder.

Study Design Cross-sectional study. Background Findings of fat infiltration in cervical spine multifidus, as a sign of degenerative morphometric changes due to whiplash injury, need to be verified. Objectives To develop a method using water/fat magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate fat infiltration and cross-sectional area of multifidus muscle in individuals with whiplash-associated disorders (WADs) compared to healthy controls.