Posts in Neck Pain
Modic Change and Chronic Pain

What are Modic changes? Modic changes are inflammatory disruptions in the vertebrae (bones) of our spine. This is part of a process that happens after a disc has been damaged for a long time (6+ months). Imagine the discs in the low back to be like the soft, white of an Oreo and the vertebra (bone) to be the hard, black cookie. What happens with Modic changes is the disc will infiltrate the bone. The Oreo is cracked and the soft, white center is pushing through the cookie. This creates swelling, inflammation, and even fracturing in the bone.

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The Layers of Chronic Pain

Chronic pain has extensive layers and we often use the iceberg analogy to explain this to our patients. The pain one often feels is just visual part above water. What’s lurking below is often much more complex. By the time you step into a medical office to seek care your body has built up multiple layers of problems. Our bodies are amazing machines, and because of that we only tend to notice the primary problem. Imagine noticing every single ache, pain, or discomfort. You’d go crazy!

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