Modic type I changes of the lumbar spine in golfers

✍ Scribed by Jason Mefford; Koichi Sairyo; Toshinori Sakai; Justin Hopkins; Madoka Inoue; Rui Amari; Nitin N. Bhatia; Akira Dezawa; Natsuo Yasui

• Book ID: 105959289
• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 498 KB
• Volume: 40
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0364-2348
• DOI: 10.1007/s00256-010-1066-2

✦ Synopsis

Low back pain (LBP) is the most prevalent musculoskeletal complaint among professional and amateur golfers; however, associated radiological changes in golf-related LBP have not been examined in the literature. We suspect that Modic Type 1 changes in the lumbar spine are linked to golf-related LBP. In this retrospective case series, four middle-aged golfers (one professional and three high-level amateurs) presented to our clinic with LBP. Inflammation of the right side of endplates in the lumbar spine was suspected based on Modic Type 1 changes detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in each patient. All four cases were diagnosed with right-sided endplate inflammation and administered intradiscal steroid injections with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Treatment swiftly alleviated LBP and diminished Modic Type 1 changes on follow-up MRI 3–6 months later in all four patients. We suggest that Modic Type 1 changes play a significant role in the diagnosis and treatment of golf-related LBP.