Lumbar Spine Radiographic Changes Are Poor Predictors
of Back Pain – Related Disability
Are lumbar spine radiographic changes associated with severity of back pain-related disability among middle-aged, community-dwelling women?
According to the latest study published this month in JAMA Open Network, the answer is no.
In this cohort of middle-aged women from London, UK, no evidence was found to support an association between a higher number of segments with lumbar radiographic and more severe back pain-related disability. The radiographic signs looked at were the amount and degree of osteophytes, disc space narrowing, and bone sclerosis. These results remained unchanged after including potential confounders, such as age, BMI, and smoking status.
The findings in this study support the growing body of evidence that lumbar radiographic findings alone cannot provide prognostic information on back pain-related disability. As chiropractors, we understand this all too well. How a person’s spine and locomotor system functions is more significant than X-ray findings for diagnosing and their back pain.
Read it HERE:
Chen L, Perera RS, Radojcic MR, et al. Association of Lumbar Spine Radiographic Changes With Severity of Back Pain-Related Disability Among Middle-aged, Community-Dwelling Women. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(5):e2110715. Published 2021 May 3. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.10715
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