Clinical Spine Surgery
Cervical Paraspinal Muscle Atrophy Is Associated With Internal Carotid Artery Stenosis
Study Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Objective: The objective of our study is to assess the relationship between carotid artery stenosis (CAS) and muscle morphology. Summary of Background Data: Paraspinal muscle degeneration, marked by fatty infiltration (FI) and reduced functional cross-sectional area (fCSA), contributes to spine instability, chronic pain, and disc degeneration. While abdominal aortic calcification is linked to lumbar muscle atrophy, cervical vascular-muscle associations remain under …