Burlington and Hamilton Cervical Spine Pain: MRI-Seen Changes, & Plan for Care

Analyzing the cervical spine of neck pain patients with MRI imaging can be interesting, confusing, and/or (non)directive for treatment planning. Spinal Care Clinic always considers imaging through the lens of the clinical symptomatology and spinal exam. Burlington and Hamilton neck pain with imaging-revealed changes in the cervical spine will receive a treatment plan based on both imaging (if/when available) and clinical exam findings.

MRI is an amazing technology. It is used commonly to evaluate intervertebral disc degeneration. When spine pain continues without relief while undergoing care for an extended period of time, doing imaging is logical and follows today’s guidelines for back pain management. The imaging findings must be correlated with the clinical symptomatology found in the clinical exam to guide the care for optimal relief. Modic Changes – vertebral bone endplate and bone marrow changes - are commonly noted when radiologists read the MRI and classify the level of disc degeneration: level 1 being the least degenerated and level 3 being the most degenerated. In the lumbar spine, more studies have been done to correlate back pain symptoms with imaging findings. In the cervical spine, the studies are scarcer. A review of 14 research studies about the link between neck pain and/or cervical spine disc degeneration to MRI-revealed Modic changes reported that cervical spine Modic changes were present in 5% to 40% of the images. Patients whose MRIs revealed Modic changes stated more neck pain and disability. Their imaging also showed more cervical disc degeneration. (1) Recently, one MRI study of cervical spines of neck pain and shoulder stiffness patients stated that no classification system of cervical disc degeneration showed any relationship to clinical symptoms. However, the researchers did explain that vertebral endplate changes may be connected to clinical symptom presentations. (2) Chiropractic care can help pain due to disc degeneration and vertebral changes.

TREATMENT PLANNING 

When [[companyname treats patients with MRI imaging presenting Modic changes, researchers and clinicians have faced correlating effective non-surgical treatment options. Review of studies previously published about the care of Modic change associated back pain, in this case it was low back pain, found that spinal manipulation was proposed as an option. The review recorded insufficient support for medication use and rigid lumbar brace wearing, antibiotics’ use as controversial, and low evidence for exercise therapy to lower pain intensity. (3) Talk about imaging being interesting, confusing, and/or (non)directive! One treatment your Burlington and Hamilton chiropractor competently and safely delivers is spinal manipulation for neck pain and back pain relief often before and/or despite imaging. Spinal Care Clinic keeps doing what works for our patients.

CONTACT Spinal Care Clinic

Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. Matthew Scott on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the effectiveness and gentleness of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management for his patient with cervical spine disc degeneration and herniation that allowed him to avoid spine surgery.

Schedule your next Burlington and Hamilton chiropractic appointment with Spinal Care Clinic. MRIs and Modic changes will not mislead your chiropractor when it comes to establishing a neck pain relieving cervical spine treatment plan.