Brian Komlance, RMT

MRI reports can sound terrifying.

Bulges. Tears. Degeneration. Arthritis. “Abnormalities.”

But here’s the part that often gets missed...lots of people with no pain at all have these findings too.

One spine review that we discuss in our classes found disc degeneration in people without back pain, even in younger adults, and it became even more common with age. A newer shoulder MRI study found rotator cuff “abnormalities” in 96% of shoulders that were not currently painful.

So the question is not just, “What does the MRI show?”

The better question is, “Does this finding actually explain this person’s symptoms?”

Because a scan can show structure, but it cannot tell the whole story of pain.

Pain is influenced by the tissue, yes, but also by sensitivity, load, inflammation, stress, sleep, strength, movement options, past experiences, and the nervous system’s current threat level.

MRI findings matter.

They just need context.

Incidental Rotator Cuff Abnormalities on Magnetic Resonance Imaging
doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.7903

I have openings in Sherwood Park this week. Book online or give the clinic a call at 780-417-7788.

Happy Canada Day!

I have openings this week!