Are scans good predictors of your back pain?

You are not your scan!

There is no doubt that scans can be critical or necessary for certain conditions. However it is over utilised and maybe doing more harm than good with regards to clinical outcomes.

A systematic review showed thirty-three articles reporting imaging findings for 3110 asymptomatic individuals.

Disc degeneration was shown in 37% of 20 year olds and 96% of 80 year olds.
Disk bulge was shown in 30% of 20 year olds and 84% of 80 year olds.
Disk protrusion was shown in 29% of 20 year olds and 43% of 80 year olds.

What does this mean for you?🤷🏻‍♂️

Well that ‘disc bulge’ at L4-L5 may not be the cause of your back pain . Your ‘degenerative’ spine doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t exercise and do things just like everyone else.