We live in an age where almost everything can be named, scanned, labelled and classified. A tilted pelvis becomes a dysfunction. A curvy spine becomes a condition. A bit of age-related wear becomes degeneration.
But does every finding need to become a diagnosis?
Modern healthcare has many strengths, and diagnosis is one of them. When used well, it can guide treatment, identify serious illness and help people get the right care quickly. But there is also a downside: sometimes labels create fear where none was needed, very often diagnoses are sought and collected like Pokémon cards or rosettes.
No two faces look identical, no two feet are the same, and no two spines are perfectly symmetrical. Human anatomy naturally varies. Some common examples include:
Many of these features have medical names. That can be useful in certain settings, but a medical term does not automatically mean something is wrong. They simply provide one clue within a much bigger picture. Humans are whole living beings not a list of separate joints and parts nor a series of specific labeled diagnoses. Sometimes it simply means we have given a name to a normal variation.
Words matter. When someone is told they have degeneration, disc disease, kyphosis, scoliosis or malalignment, they often hear:
That can lead to fear, avoidance of movement and loss of confidence. In many cases, the label becomes more disabling than the physical issue itself.
Of course, diagnoses still matter greatly. We absolutely need them when they:
No sensible clinician is arguing against that. If someone may have infection, fracture, inflammatory disease, severe nerve compression, osteoporosis, cancer or another significant condition, accurate diagnosis is crucial.
Once the serious possibilities (red flags) have been ruled out, what about the person with ordinary back pain, neck stiffness or age-related aches? If the treatment plan is still likely to involve:
…then the exact label may matter far less than many people think.
Take spinal spondylosis as an example. Many adults develop age-related changes in the spine as they get older. This is extremely common. In many cases, it is simply part of living long enough to have many birthdays. It is not so different from wrinkles, grey hair or needing reading glasses.
That does not mean symptoms should be ignored. It means common findings on scans are not always the cause of pain, and they are not automatically a sign of damage. If scans have been done, we don’t ignore the findings but we do treat the patient, not the scans.
The real clinical skill is not spotting that ordinary wear exists. It is recognising when something more important may also be present.
Good clinicians do more than hand out labels. They assess:
Then treatment is adapted based on the person’s response. That is often far more useful than chasing the perfect diagnosis for every ache and pain.
It is human nature to want to know exactly why something is painful or doesn’t feel right. However, when it comes to the human body these exact answers are not always possible and not needed to achieve the desired results – guidance, reassurance, and the confidence to get on with life knowing that help is at hand when its needed.
What we can offer is the reassurance that there is nothing bad going on, pain does not always equal damage, that bodies are adaptable, and that variation is normal.
A diagnosis should be used when it helps. When it changes decisions, improves safety or guides meaningful treatment, it is invaluable. But collecting labels for the normal human condition often does more harm than good.
