The Spine Centre at the University of Southern Denmark as developed a 9 question process that enables clinicians to identify patients who may suffer from lower back pain caused by Modic changes.

If a patient’s response is YES to three or more questions, it is possible that they may have Modic changes.

We advise you to contact a Certified MAST doctor or therapist who will provide you with the proper treatment

The Questions are:

1. Do you have pain in your lower back during the night?
2. Does the pain in you lower back wake you up when you turn over in bed?
3. Is the pain worse in the morning, better at noon and worse again in the afternoon and evening?
4. Does it feel as though your pain is located deep in your spine?
5. Does the pain sometimes radiate down to one or both of your legs?
6. When doing physical activity or exercising, does your back pain get worse or at best remain unchanged?
7. Have you ever had an X-ray that shows you have some spinal disc degeneration?
8. Do you suffer back pain constantly or for most of the day? Even if the intensity varies so that at some point it is relatively low, do you still find it difficult to ignore the pain?
9. Have you tried a variety of treatments that normally help back pain but they didn’t work for you?

A Certified MAST doctor or therapist will be able to provide patients with the proper treatment.

Treatment for modic changes is not the same as for other forms of lower back pain. The pain in modic changes is caused by bacteria. The diagnosis of which can only be confirmed with an MRI scan.

Traditional forms of treatment will not benefit a patient suffering from modic changes. A MAST certified practitioner will diagnose modic changes by first establishing a comprehensive case history, then establish the nature of the physical symptoms and finally by scaning the spine using an MRI machine.

It is important to note, that Modic patients will say that they Always have pain. This should be the first indicator that your patient may have Modic Changes.

More information on identifying MODIC pain and choosing a modic treatment here.