Is eindplaatoedeem van wervellichamen een oorzaak van lage-rugpijn?

Lumbar bone marrow edema, also known as Modic type-1 endplate change, has a prevalence of 43% in low back pain populations and 6% in general populations. Besides mechanical factors and genetic predisposition it has been hypothesized that lumbar bone marrow edema is caused by a latent infection of low-virulence anaerobic bacteria in degenerated lumbar intervertebral discs. The hypothesis is supported by the observation that the presence of Cutibacterium acnes is more frequently found in samples of disci with Modic-1 than in discs without and by the positive effects of antibiotics in patients with back pain and Modic-1 as shown in placebo-controlled RCT’s. Opponents of the hypothesis argue that the findings of bacteria are most likely a result of contamination during harvesting the samples. We conclude that time has come to make a start in the Netherlands with treatment with antibiotics of a small group of well-selected patients in well-selected clinics.

Conflict of interest and financial support: potential conflicts of interest have been reported for this article. ICMJE forms provided by the authors are available online along with the full text of this article.