Degenerative spine disease is a serious social problem. In most cases, it causes pain and neurological symptoms. Most patients are therefore referred for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The article discusses the relationship between back pain and magnetic resonance changes. The signification of some of the radiological symptoms remains controversial. Some of them are markers of acute pain, others may be clinically insignificant, occurring with age. Authors presents some of the magnetic resonance alterations and based on the latest articles discusses their clinical significance. The issues of performing routine, control MRI examination due to chronic back pain and the incidence of new radiological findings were also discussed.
Keywords: back pain; intervertebral disc degeneration; magnetic resonance imaging; spondylosis.