Manchester Cervical Spine Pain: MRI-Seen Changes, & Plan for Care

Studying the cervical spine of neck pain patients who have MRIs noting some changes in the spine 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 persists even with care for an extended period of time, having imaging done 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 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 described that cervical spine Modic changes were seen 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) Of late, one MRI study of cervical spines of neck pain and shoulder stiffness patients reported 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 linked 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 previously published about the treatment of Modic change associated back pain, in this review it was low back pain, found that spinal manipulation was advocated as an option. The review recorded insufficient support for medication use and rigid lumbar brace wearing, antibiotics’ use as controversial, and exercise therapy’s use to reduce back pain intensity as having low evidence support. (3) Do you see how imaging can be interesting, confusing, and/or (non)directive? One treatment your Manchester chiropractor competently and safely provides is spinal manipulation for neck pain and back pain relief manytimes before and/or in spite of imaging. Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries stays the course with what we see helps 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 explains 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 Manchester chiropractic appointment with Manchester Chiropractic & Sports Injuries. MRIs and Modic changes won’t mislead your chiropractor when it comes to setting up a neck pain relieving cervical spine treatment plan.