06/05/2019
En prenant de l'âge👴, on prend des rides, des protrusions discales et des cheveux blancs👵... Ce sont des changements NORMAUX liés à l'âge.
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠
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👉Love this infographic from Trust me, I'm a Physiotherapist. We must remember that changes to the intervertebral discs of the spine are often present in asymptomatic individuals and may simply be associated with the aging process.
🔎However, we continue to use terms like disc ‘degeneration’ and disc ‘bulge’ to describe findings that may simply be adaptations to mechanical stress. The major obvious downside to using such terms is the negative impact they can have on an individual’s beliefs about their health and ability to function.
✅Instead of fearing our discs and these changes, maybe it would be helpful for us to reframe how we think of the spinal discs. I really appreciate what Dr. David Butler and Dr. Lorimer Moseley say on this topic in their book, Explain Pain. They refer to our discs as ‘Living Adaptable Force Transducers’. When we think 🤔 about our discs with this concept in mind, we might view changes seen on an MRI as evidence of adaptation instead of something negative like ‘degeneration’.
Food for thought. Enjoy your Monday!
📚Brinjikji W, et al. Systematic literature review of imaging features of spinal degeneration in asymptomatic populations. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2015.