CT scanning was introduced in the 1970s and the first MRI scans were performed medically in the early 1980s. At that time it was hoped they would revolutionise the management of low back pain. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and despite this new insight in to the painful lower back, low back pain remains the second most common reason for time off work and visits to the GP after colds and flu, and statistics suggest 80% of people will suffer low back pain during their lifetime. The intervertebral discs were commonly thought of as a major reason for pain in the lower back. This suspicion was heightened when radiological investigations started showing a prevalence of degenerative discs and disc protrusions in patients (research results show present in between 60 and 90% of those examined). That thought was maintained until researchers started performing MRI scans on asymptomatic people with startling results. In […]