Severe Paraspinal Muscle Atrophy with Fatty Degeneration in a Young Adult: A Case Report

doi:2018.20.2.130

J Electrodiagn Neuromuscul Dis > Volume 20(2); 2018 > Article

Case Report

J Korean Assoc EMG Electrodiagn Med 2018;20(2):130-134.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18214/jkaem.2018.20.2.130 Published online December 30, 2018.

Severe Paraspinal Muscle Atrophy with Fatty Degeneration in a Young Adult: A Case Report

Received: 18 May 2018 • Revised: 4 July 2018 • Accepted: 16 July 2018

Abstract

A 36-year-old male patient developed diffuse low back pain. His past medical history was unremarkable and had no family history of neuromuscular disease. He had no bladder and bowel problems. Creatine kinase was 172 U/L (normal < 170). Other fluid and blood chemistry tests were normal. Manual muscle test grades of extremities and sensory examination were normal. Muscle stretch reflexes were normal. Fasciculations and myotonia were not detected. Straight leg raising test was negative. There was no spinal root compression, spinal stenosis, or signal intensity change of spinal cord on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Fatty change and atrophy of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar paraspinal muscles were noted on MRI. Nerve conduction studies were normal. Electromyography showed 1+ positive sharp waves in the lumbar paraspinal muscles. Electromyography of upper and lower extremity muscles revealed no abnormal spontaneous activity. We report a rare case of severe paraspinal muscle atrophy with fatty degeneration in a Young Adult.

Key Words: axial, myopathy, paraspinal