As a screening tool, MRI studies may not yield the information necessary to make an appropriate diagnosis of an orthopedic or spine condition, according to a release from National Pain Centers.
MRIs are routinely taken for patients presenting with back pain, and specialists may make a diagnosis based on the MRI alone, which ignores other important clinical information. In some cases, pain may be due to facet and sacroiliac joint irritation, ligament or muscle pain, sympathetic nervous system dysfunction and nerve irritation without gross impingement. These patients most likely need pain management, such as medication injections, to relieve the pain.
MRIs can also be misleading by showing a problem that isn't the source of a patient's pain. For example, an MRI might show a bulging disc, but if that isn't the source of the pain, surgery won't correct it. Treating chronic pain costs more than $600 billion every year, according to the report, some of which can be attributed to the overuse of MRI as a diagnostic tool and performing unnecessary procedures after an incorrect diagnosis based on MRI studies.
"The problem is that just because you have a bulging disc, it doesn't mean that your pain is coming from that disc," said Jay Joshi, MD, CEO and medical director of National Pain Centers and medical director of pain management of the Alexian Brothers Medical Center. "In fact, over 50 percent of patients over the age of 30 with no symptoms at all have an MRI bulge at L4-L5 or L5-S1."
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MRIs can also be misleading by showing a problem that isn't the source of a patient's pain. For example, an MRI might show a bulging disc, but if that isn't the source of the pain, surgery won't correct it. Treating chronic pain costs more than $600 billion every year, according to the report, some of which can be attributed to the overuse of MRI as a diagnostic tool and performing unnecessary procedures after an incorrect diagnosis based on MRI studies.
"The problem is that just because you have a bulging disc, it doesn't mean that your pain is coming from that disc," said Jay Joshi, MD, CEO and medical director of National Pain Centers and medical director of pain management of the Alexian Brothers Medical Center. "In fact, over 50 percent of patients over the age of 30 with no symptoms at all have an MRI bulge at L4-L5 or L5-S1."
Related Articles on Pain Management:
Chronic Pain and Prescription Drug Abuse Cost U.S. More Than $323M a Year
Patch May Help pain In Shoulder Impingement Syndrome
Pain Clinic Operators Turn to Pharmacies As Sources of Revenue