Dr. Maryse Fortin, PhD, CAT(C)

Dr. Fortin officially joined the Department of Health, Kinesiology & Applied Physiology as an Assistant Professor in July 2019, after having spent 2 years at the PERFORM Centre, Concordia University, as a Research Scientist.

Postdoctoral Fellowship, PERFORM Centre, Concordia University, Electrical Engineering

Postdoctoral Fellowship, McGill University, Orthopedic Spine Surgery

PhD, University of Alberta, Rehabilitation Science

BSc, Concordia University, Exercise Science, Specialization Athletic Therapy

Dr. Fortin's primary area of research and clinical expertise is in musculoskeletal spine imaging and rehabilitation. Her research program focuses on understanding the role of the paraspinal musculature in the development and recurrence of low back pain and neck pain, using structural and advanced MRI and ultrasound imaging applications, in order to quantify temporal muscle degenerative changes and altered muscle function as possible factors associated with persistent pain and related disability. She is also interested to clarify the effect of different types of exercise therapy used for the treatment of chronic low back pain on overall paraspinal muscle health (e.g. size, asymmetry, fatty infiltration, muscle function).

EXCI 610/322: Statistics & Research Design

EXCI 424: Honours Seminar I: Issues and Methods in Exercise Science

EXCI 624: Special Topics in Exercise Science

Rosenstein B, Burdick J, Roussac A, Rye M, Nagdhi N, Valentin S, Licka T, Sean M, Téteault P, Elliott J, Fortin M. The assessment of paraspinal muscle epimuscular fat in participants with and without low back pain: A case-control study. J Biomech. 2024; 2024;163:111928.

Naghdi N, Elliott JM, Weber MH, Fehlings MG, Fortin M. Cervical muscle morphometry and composition demonstrate prognostic value in degenerative cervical myelophy outcomes. Frontiers Neurology. 2023;14:1209475. 

Fortin M, Rye M, Roussac A, Montpetit C, Burdick J, Naghdi N, Rosenstein R, Bertrand C, Macedo LG, Elliot J, Dover G, DeMont R, Weber MH, Pepin V. The effect of combined motor control and isolated extensor strengthening versus general exercise on paraspinal muscle morphology, composition and function in patients with chronic low back pain: A randomized controlled trial. J Clin Med 2023;12(18):5920; doi.org/10.3390/jcm12185920.

Wolfe D, Rosenstein B, Fortin M. The effect of transcutaneous electrotherapy on lumbar range of motion and paraspinal muscle characteristics on chronic low back pain patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Med 2023;14(12):4680.

 Masi S, Rye M, Roussac A, Naghdi N, Rosenstein B, Bailey J, Fortin M. Comparison of paraspinal muscle composition measurements using IDEAL fat-water and T2-weighted MR images. BMC Medical Imaging 2023; 23(1):48.