Whether you are skipping out on important occasions, or everyday activities are becoming more challenging, back pain can interfere with your life. You may find temporary relief in exercise, physical therapy, or medications, but those relievers may be ineffective on a longer term basis.
It is therefore important to get to know and therefore treat the underlying cause of your back pain so that, in partnership with your physician, you can establish a treatment plan that works for the long haul. Your physician may also recommend imaging, namely, an MRI scan, so that they can determine what is causing and diagnose your pain.
Identifying the Cause of Back Pain With MRI
In most instances, patients presenting with back pain exhibit an injury to the muscles, ligaments or tendons that hold the spinal column in place. If the painful area is the lower back, you may have a problem with the lumbar spine. If the area in pain is the upper back or neck, you likely have a cervical spine issue.
Typically, back injuries arise from a combination of factors that may include taking on too much physical activity without providing adequate recovery time, poor posture, degenerative issues, abusing the body through inactivity or repetitive motions, repetitive physical exertion, genetics, medical history, poor physical health, not engaging in physical activity, or some combination to the above-factor described.
If your back pain is intense, the location, in addition to the degree of injury, will often determine what your doctor initially recommends; these recommendations may include over the counter medications, physical therapy, changing how you sit, move, or lift objects, prior to a referral for imaging and diagnosing.
Benefits of an MRI for Back Pain
Degenerative diseases: an MRI can identify some chronic condition like multiple sclerosis.
Herniated disks: A herniated or compressed disk can cause numbness, pain or discomfort when you move. Herniated discs occur when the soft disks that are shock absorbers between vertebrae in the spine fail and tear.
Misaligned vertebrae: Weakened muscle that supports the spine may cause the spine to misalign. As the position of the vertebrae changes, pressure is applied to the weakened structure of the spine, which may also apply pressure to the nerves, and cause pain.
Sciatica: Sciatica involves pain that shoots down into the lower back, into the buttock, then into the leg, and may involve pressure on the sciatic nerve.
Warning signs and back pain
Both you and your healthcare provider might be concerned that something serious is causing your low back pain. It is possible that your pain may be due to some sort of cancer or infection in your spine.
How does your healthcare provider know for sure You will probably need an MRI?
- If you have warning signs of a more serious cause of your back pain such as:
- Not able to urinate or have a stool
- You are not able to control your urine
- Problems with walking and balance
- Severe back pain in children
- Fever
- History of cancer
Other signs and symptoms related to cancer
- Recent severe fall or injury
- Back pain that is very severe and even pain medications prescribed by your provider are not changing it.
- Leg pain that is numb or weak and getting worse.
If you have low back pain, but do not have any of these warning signs, there is no benefit in having an MRI.
Conclusion
Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI is a useful and non-invasive imaging modality, which permits accurate imaging of the spine and tissues around it and identifies potential causes for a patient with complaints of back pain. MRI specifies the nature of various possible pathologies and conditions, including herniated or degenerative discs, nerve compression or irritation, spinal stenosis, inflammatory processes, infections, tumors, and fractures that would be otherwise missed, or less clearly characterized, with other imaging modalities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Can an MRI detect the cause of back pain?
Certainly an MRI can sometimes be an important test in determining the underlying cause of back pain.
Q. What is the process for getting an MRI scan for back pain assessment?
If you need to get an MRI for back pain, you will have to contact imaging centre near you or health care provider to evaluate your symptoms and decide whether an MRI is needed
Q. How accurate is MRI for back pain?
Although MRI is only one of the possible diagnostic modalities used to evaluate back pain, using it to determine if there is a cause of any pain can have severe limitations.
Q. What is the best scan for back pain?
Best scan for back pain is “MRI scans” . You can have an MRI scan in Rohini, Delhi.
Q. How to sleep if you have lower back pain?
The best sleeping position is to sleep on your side with a pillow between your knees to keep your spine aligned and take weight off your back.You can also “back sleep”, as long as you have the correct positioning
