Medical imaging allows us to look at the integrity of many tissues in the body, but does learning about what’s fraying or degenerating help you? Not necessarily. Research demonstrates that many “scary” sounding conditions like bulging discs, herniated discs, and labral tears are commonly found in people with no pain. They are a normal part of aging and not necessarily an indicator that pain is inevitable. Since research supports this, many insurance companies will no longer pay for an MRI until a patient attends physical therapy first.
Degenerative disc is an umbrella term for changes that happen with age. As we age, our discs may dry out, thin, or crack. They can even bulge or herniate, where the inside gel pushes out through the sides of the disc. By the age of 35, roughly 30% of people will show evidence of disc degeneration at one or more levels. By the age of 60, more than 90% of people will show evidence of some disc degeneration. So disc generation is not necessarily a sentence of low back pain. Another study showed that for patients who consulted an orthopedic physician, having an MRI increased the probability of having surgery by 34 percentage points. Hip labral tears are also common and asymptomatic. Studies have shown 69% of adults have asymptomatic labral tears. This number jumps to 89% with athletes. In the study that showed athletes to have 89% tears, the average age of the participants was 16 years old. Is a hip labral tear going to cause you pain? The odds are it’s just there and something else could be contributing to the pain. Furthermore, research has shown abnormalities on knee MRIs for 89% of adults over 50 years of age, regardless of if they had pain in the knee or no pain in the knee. The rotator cuff of the shoulder has a similar prevalence of tears present without pain. See blog on Rotator Cuff Tears
But what does all this mean? In a nutshell it means #ChoosePT. Physical therapy can help you identify muscle imbalances, postures, areas of limited mobility, and poor alignment in how you perform activities that cause you pain. So while you can’t change those degenerated tissues or tears, you CAN learn to move better, get stronger, and stretch limited tissues. All those changes can lead to a more active lifestyle with less pain. CGPT is ready to help. Call us at 586-987-7900 or Click here to request an appointment.
https://www.neurosurgery.columbia.edu/patient-care/conditions/degenerative-disc-disease
Prevalence of Abnormal Hip Findings in Asymptomatic Participants: A Prospective, Blinded Study
Prevalence of Acetabular Labral Tears in Asymptomatic Young Athletes
