Modic changes of the lumbar spine: prevalence, risk factors, and association with disc degeneration and low back pain in a large-scale population-based cohort

Abstract

Based on one of the largest MRI studies to assess lumbar MC, we noted that MC were associated with both disc degeneration and the presence and severity of LBP. Determinants and association of MC with disc degeneration and clinical symptoms in the upper versus the lower lumbar spine were different. Our study further stresses the significance of MC as important imaging phenotypes associated with LBP.