ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2016
Chronic low back pain in relation to Modic changes, bony endplate lesions, and disc degeneration in a prospective MRI study.
Article in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 87 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
87 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 134 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluating the Impact of Modic Changes on Operative Treatment in the Cervical and Lumbar Spine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- The association between vertebral endplate structural defects and back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2021Pooled it
- Intra-osseous basivertebral nerve radiofrequency ablation (BVA) for the treatment of vertebrogenic chronic low back pain.Neuroradiology · 2021Trial
- Correlation between Magnetic Resonance Imaging Modic Endplate Changes and Histopathological Inflammatory Activity in Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease.Journal of orthopaedic case reports · 2026Article
- Association between vertebral endplate lesions and sagittal spinal alignment: a retrospective imaging analysis in a selected adult patient population.European radiology experimental · 2026Article
- Risk Factor Analysis of Residual Low Back Pain After Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic Discectomy in Patients With Lumbar Disc Herniation.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2026Article
- Modic changes and their role in vertebrogenic back pain: a literature review.Skeletal radiology · 2026Review
- Patient selection, clinical outcomes, associated healthcare utilization, and cost-effectiveness of basivertebral nerve ablation for the treatment of vertebrogenic low back pain: A narrative review.North American Spine Society journal · 2025Article
- Article
- Pyrroloquinoline quinone targets senescent osteoclasts and reduces spinal pain and endplate degeneration in a lumbar spine instability mouse model.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Characteristics of endplate changes in patients with lumbar disc herniation treated by discectomy and their effects on clinical symptoms during one-year postoperative follow-up.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Article
- Article
- Disc deformation as a potential biomarker of nonspecific low back pain.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Human Disc Degeneration Is Accompanied by a Loss of Anterior Annulus Fibrosus Interlamellar Matrix Integrity as Assessed by Peel Tests.JOR spine · 2025Article
- Modic Changes in Patients Who Have Undergone Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: The Correlation With Fusion Success and Subsidence.Orthopaedic surgery · 2025Article
- New-Occurrence of Postoperative Modic Changes and Its Influence on the Surgical Prognosis After Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Disc Discectomy.Orthopaedic surgery · 2025Article
- A Primer on Anatomy, Biophysics, Pathology, Imaging and Treatment of the Intervertebral Disc and the Anterior Spinal Column: The Discogenic, Intervertebral, Spinal Column (DISC) ASPN Workgroup.Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Collagen integrity of the annulus fibrosus in degenerative disc disease individuals quantified with collagen hybridizing peptide.JOR spine · 2024Article
- Article
- Sulfated Hydrogels as Primary Intervertebral Disc Cell Culture Systems.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
27 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo clarify the significance of Modic changes, bony endplate lesions, and disc degeneration as predictors of chronic low back pain (LBP) during 1-year follow-up.
methods49 patients with severe, non-specific, chronic LBP, and Modic 1 lesion (M1) were prospectively studied with MRI and questionnaire. Changes in grade of disc degeneration, severity of Modic changes, Schmorl lesions, and bony endplate irregularities were evaluated and changes assessed in LBP intensity on numeric rating scale 0-10 and severity with Oswestry disability index 0-100 (ODI). Association between change in MRI findings and symptoms was computed using generalized estimating equations analysis.
resultsAlthough pain decreased in most patients during 1-year follow-up, it increased or persisted in 36 %. Change in M1, M2, bony endplate lesions, and signal intensity (SI) and height of the disc associated with change of pain intensity, while change in M1, bony endplate lesions, and disc height associated with change of ODI. Not only persistent M1s, increasing bony endplate lesions, decreasing disc height, and M2s, but also new M2s predicted persistence of pain, while decrease of M1s and SI of the disc and increase of size of M2s predicted decrease of pain. Changes in disc bulges did not associate with pain.
conclusionsIn patients with chronic non-specific LBP, persisting M1, decreasing disc height, and increasing bony endplate lesions associated with persisting pain while decrease of SI of the disc with decrease of pain. Such changing MRI findings in the same disc space have earlier been shown to progress abnormally fast. They may be signs or biomarkers of a prolonged pain causing, deforming degenerative process, and should lead to considering early intervention or specific treatments to affect that process.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.