Manchester Cervical Spine Pain: MRI-Seen Changes, & Plan for Care
Studying the cervical spine of neck pain patients with MRI imaging can be interesting, confusing, and/or (non)directive for treatment planning. Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries always views imaging through the lens of the clinical symptomatology and spinal exam. Manchester neck pain with imaging-revealed changes in the cervical spine will get 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 seen in the clinical exam to guide the care for optimal relief. Modic Changes – vertebral bone endplate and bone marrow changes - are typically noted when radiologists review the MRI and classify the level of disc degeneration: level 1 being the least degenerated and level 3 being the most degenerated. More lumbar spine studies have been done to correlate back pain symptoms with imaging findings. In the cervical spine, the studies are fewer. A review of 14 research studies about the connection 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 showed Modic changes stated more neck pain and disability. Their imaging also showed more cervical disc degeneration. (1) Recently, an 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 mention 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 it comes to chiropractic treatment of patients with MRI imaging presenting Modic changes, researchers and clinicians have been challenged to correlate effective non-surgical treatment options. Review of studies already published about the care of Modic change associated back pain, in this case it was low back pain, found that spinal manipulation was advocated as an option. The review listed insufficient support for medication use and rigid lumbar brace wearing, antibiotics’ use as controversial, and low evidence for exercise therapy to decrease pain intensity. (3) Do you see how imaging can be interesting, confusing, and/or (non)directive? One treatment your Manchester chiropractor proficiently and safely provides is spinal manipulation for neck pain and back pain relief often before and/or despite imaging. Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries keeps doing what works for our patients.
CONTACT Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries
Listen to the PODCAST with Dr. Matthew Scott on the Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the effective, gentle treatment with 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.
Make your next Manchester chiropractic appointment with Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries. MRIs and Modic changes won’t confuse your chiropractor when it comes to establishing a neck pain relieving treatment plan for your cervical spine issues.
