Abstract:Objective To investigate the value of paraspinal muscle group magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in evaluating the efficacy of tendon manipulation for chronic nonspecific low back pain.Methods A total of 114 patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain treated at Jinan Hospital of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine from March 2019 to March 2021 were selected. All patients received tendon manipulation. Paraspinal muscle relative cross-sectional area (RCSA) and fat signal fraction (FSF) were measured using paraspinal muscle group MRI. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to analyze the evaluation value of total RCSA and total FSF in tendon manipulation.Results Visual analog scale (VAS) and Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) scores were lower after treatment compared to before treatment (P < 0.05). After treatment, 34 cases showed significant improvement, 52 cases showed improvement, and the total effective rate was 75.44%. The differences in total RCSA and total FSF before and after treatment in ineffective patients were lower than those in effective patients (P < 0.05), and the differences in total RCSA before and after treatment in ineffective patients were lower than those in effective patients (P < 0.05). The areas under the ROC curves of total RCSA, total FSF, and total RCSA of the multifidus and erector spinae muscles in evaluating the efficacy of tendon manipulation for chronic nonspecific low back pain were 0.827, 0.834, 0.804, and 0.760, respectively. The sensitivity was 79.36% (95% CI: 0.512, 0.897), 82.69% (95% CI: 0.517, 0.952), 75.64% (95% CI: 0.457, 0.890), and 70.21% (95% CI: 0.403, 0.847), respectively. The specificity was 71.25% (95% CI: 0.413, 0.857), 78.69% (95% CI: 0.563, 0.942), 70.25% (95% CI: 0.410, 0.820), and 59.36% (95% CI: 0.393, 0.806), respectively.Conclusion Paraspinal muscle group MRI can be used for quantitative evaluation of the efficacy of tendon manipulation for chronic nonspecific low back pain, which is of great value for guiding clinicians to adjust treatment plans.