Degenerative changes: Meaning in a Radiology Report

Degenerative changes

Also written as: degenerative change, degeneration, wear and tear, age-related changes

Degenerative changes are signs of wear and tear in the joints, discs and bones. They build up slowly with age and are very common in adults.

Seen on: Any scan

How it reads in a report

There are mild multilevel degenerative changes of the lumbar spine, most marked at L4-L5.

What it means

Over the years, joints and the spine change slowly, much as skin wrinkles or hair turns gray. Discs lose some water and height, cartilage thins, and small bony spurs form at the joint edges. Reports call this degenerative changes, degeneration or wear and tear. It is a normal part of aging and is often graded as mild, moderate or severe.

When it matters

These changes are extremely common, and many people who have them on a scan have no pain at all. The amount seen does not reliably predict how much it hurts. Doctors pay more attention when the changes narrow the space around a nerve or the spinal cord, or clearly match your symptoms. They weigh the scan together with your examination, not on its own.

Questions to ask your doctor

Could these changes explain my pain, or are they likely unrelated?
Is any nerve or the spinal canal narrowed by them?
Are these changes typical for my age, or more advanced?

General information, not medical advice. What a finding means for you depends on your symptoms, your history and the images themselves, so talk your results through with a doctor.