Are You What Your MRI Says You Are?

Low back pain affects two-thirds of adults at some point of their lifetime and is contributing to higher health costs and lower productivity in the workplace. While a lot of things can contribute to low back pain such as: arthritic changes (DJD), disc bugles, disc protrusions and disc herniations, unfortunately information about how and when these conditions appeared and its role in pain is largely overexaggerated.

A 2015 literature review looked over 33 different studies with 3,110 asymptomatic individuals. What they found may surprise you.

• 37% of 20 y.o and 96% of 80 y.o had arthritic changes (DJD).

• 30% of 20 y.o and 84% of 80 y.o had disc bulges.

• 29% of 20 y.o and 43% of 80 y.o had disc protrusions.

What can we learn from this?

The biggest take away that we can learn from this study is that it is not as easy as, “oh it's your arthritis” or “that disc bulge you suffered 15 years ago randomly flared up”. While all those findings on an MRI can be contributing factors to pain, it is not always the sole cause of pain. If it was, this study would not have found findings in asymptomatic people.

It’s important as a chiropractor that we not only take your history into account, but also how you are currently feeling. What are your current limitations, what can you do without pain, what helps the pain? These things are more informative and insightful than “my doctor told me I have a disc bulge so I will always be in pain”. As a matter of fact, most disc bulges and herniations resolve by themselves, but that is a blog for another day.