Correlation Between Bone Mineral Density And Different Types of Modic Changes in Lumbar Spine

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Radiology
• Bone Metabolism

Background:

• Modic changes (MCs) are common in lumbar degenerative disease, with three classifications.
• The link between Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and specific MC types at vertebral lesions is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and the different types of Modic changes (MCs) in the lumbar spine.

Main Methods:

• Evaluated MC classification and grading from lumbar MRI scans in 144 patients.
• Obtained BMD, T-scores, and Z-scores from CT images of normal vertebrae, MC lesion sites, and adjacent healthy regions.

Main Results:

• Assessed 370 vertebrae; MCs were most frequent in L4-L5 vertebrae.
• Type I, II, and III MCs showed higher BMD, T-scores, and Z-scores compared to adjacent healthy bone and normal vertebrae.
• Strong correlation found between Modic types, but not grades within types.

Conclusions:

• Any Modic change (MC) is significantly associated with increased BMD at the lesion site.
• More severe MCs demonstrate a stronger association with elevated BMD.
• This study is the first to examine BMD across all MC types.