Does Your MRI Tell Your Story?

Patients come in all the time with disc herniations or disc degeneration that they have been either told they have or have seen on an MRI or x-ray. In fact, they are very common, both in people with pain or in no pain whatsoever. A recent study looked at different patient groups that have had no pain and did MRIs on them and showed that people in no pain also have these conditions. In a sample of 20 year olds with no pain, a younger demographic where you might not expect a patient to have much degeneration or pain, it was found that 37% of them had disc degeneration while 30% had disc bulging. In the sample of 50 year olds with no pain, an older demographic where pain is more common, 80% of them had disc degeneration and 60% of them had disc bulges. In the oldest demographic looked at, the 80 year olds with no pain, 96% of them had disc degeneration and 84% of them had disc bulging. All of these people looked at in this study had no history of neck or back pain (Brinjikj et al. AM Neuroradiol. 2015).

So disc degenerations and disc herniations are very common, even in people without pain. This does not mean that the pain you may be experiencing comes from disc degeneration or disc herniations. There might be other factors to consider. Chiropractors specialize in treating neck and lower back pain. Disc degenerations and bulges are nothing to be scared of, they happen, sometimes, without trauma like in the above individuals. They might be the result of aging, posture, and daily activities. This doesn't mean that you should stop doing what you love, but you might require modifications to continue to do so. Chiropractors are a great source for exercise and lifestyle modifications to help make your life pain-free.