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# Interspinales

The interspinales are short muscles between neighbouring spinous processes, mainly in the neck and lower back; they help straighten the spine.

Official name: Interspinales muscles

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## What it is

Short muscles between neighbouring spinous processes, mainly in the neck and lower back.

## What it does

Help straighten the spine and sense its position.

## Key points

- Paired short muscles on either side of the interspinous ligament, joining neighbouring spinous processes
- Clearest in the neck (from C2 downward) and in the lower back; often absent in the middle of the thoracic [spine](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/region/spine/)
- Act more as stabilisers and position sensors than as true extensors

## Key facts

**Origin**
Spinous process below; paired, mainly cervical and lumbar (sparse in thoracic)

**Insertion**
Spinous process of the vertebra above

**Action**
Assist extension; stabilise; proprioception

**Nerve**
Medial branches of dorsal rami (segmental)

**Blood supply**
Dorsal branches of segmental arteries (deep cervical, posterior intercostal, lumbar)

## Relations

**Medial**
Interspinous ligament, between the right and left muscle of each pair

**Superficial**
[Supraspinous ligament](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/supraspinous-ligament/) in the trunk, [nuchal ligament](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/nuchal-ligament/) in the neck

**Lateral**
[Multifidus](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/multifidus-muscles/) and, in the neck, [semispinalis](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/semispinalis-muscles/) cervicis

## How to find it

Not felt as separate muscles. They lie in the gaps between the tips of adjacent spinous processes, gaps that open when the person bends forward.

## On imaging

Not told apart on routine imaging; sagittal MRI shows the interspinous space they share with the interspinous ligament. In a flexion–distraction injury, fat-suppressed MRI shows bright oedema between the spinous processes, a sign of posterior ligamentous complex damage; radiographs may show a widened gap. In Baastrup disease, touching spinous processes have fluid between them.

## Common problems

- Shrinks and fills with fat in chronic low back pain, sometimes only at the painful level.
- Is stripped or split from the bone in open posterior spine surgery; muscle-sparing approaches try to protect it.

## How it is diagnosed

MRI or ultrasound shows its size and fat content.

## Treatment

- Targeted exercise (motor control training) to retrain the deep stabilisers.

## Clinical notes

- A midline lumbar puncture needle passes through the supraspinous and [interspinous ligaments](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/interspinous-ligaments/) between the paired interspinales, then the [ligamentum flavum](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/ligamenta-flava/)
- Divided with the interspinous ligament in laminectomy and when interspinous spacers or wiring are placed

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What do the interspinales connect, and where are they clearest?

Neighbouring spinous processes; clearest in the neck (from C2 down) and lower back, often absent in the mid-thoracic spine.

## What structure lies between the right and left interspinales of each pair?

The interspinous ligament.

## Which layers does a midline lumbar puncture needle cross at the level of the interspinales?

The supraspinous and interspinous ligaments between the paired interspinales, then the ligamentum flavum.

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Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.

## Its names

**Official Latin (TA2)**
musculi interspinales TA2 2290

**Official Spanish (DeCS)**
Músculos interespinosos DeCS D064170

**English (TA2)**
Interspinales muscles

## Related

- [Interspinous ligaments](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/interspinous-ligaments/)
- [Atlas (C1)](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/atlas/)
- [Axis (C2)](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/axis/)
- [C3 vertebra](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/cervical-vertebrae/)
- [C4 vertebra](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/c4/)
- [C5 vertebra](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/c5/)
- [C6 vertebra](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/c6/)
- [C7 vertebra](https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/vertebra-prominens/)

Sources: Terminologia Anatomica (TA2); [DeCS](https://decs.bvsalud.org/es/ths/resource/?id=55179&filter=ths_termall&q=M%C3%BAsculos%20Paraespinales); [Anatomy, Back](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539746/).

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License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/anatomy/interspinales-muscles/