MRI Technology… It is Good To Use It All The Time To Diagnose Back Pain?

It’s interesting how the more technology we have the more it tells us we are not normal, not well, need treatment, and yes - even need a surgical process for something like lower back pain when that may not actually be the case. Just remember it is not my objective to say we don’t need technology or haven’t experienced multiple benefits because of advancements in technology and medicine. Despite all that, I read a recent article that was a bit amazing regarding a correlation that exists between the larger number of lower back surgeries and the availability of MRI technology.

According to data in areas, neighborhoods, etc. where there is a higher concentration of MRI scanners and where no specific lower back discomfort cause can be identified that there were slightly more surgeries happening in these areas than others. In general, this information was gathered for almost a decade and utilized well over 500,000 medical claims.

Studies from research would agree that the main concern has to do with the fact that there is a growing agreement among the health communtiy that a surgical process should not be utilized to battle lower back pain where there is no exact source. Not to mention, we should not be using MRI’s to try and diagnose lower back discomfort only because we can't discover an obvious source because the fact that they are thought to supply false positives too commonly.

It is said that, the majority of lower back pain will heal itself over time and is not severe enough to demand a a surgical process. Certainly, surgery for lower back pain and discomfort is complicated and doesn’t give any guarantees that it will work for you either. The article went on to say that if an MRI was used to scan 100 backs of healthy lower back pain sufferers, about 20% will seemingly show a false positive to their health care professional.

This is alarming and research suggests that, according to statistics they have compiled, that for each additional MRI scanner in an area, neighborhood, etc you see an increase of about 2% lower back pain sufferers receiving an MRI scan for their lower back that is unrequired.

In reality, this may not seem like a large number but it actually is in view of the fact that this increase is per additional MRI device in an area, neighborhood, etc. That is, because there is such a close connection between these MRI scans, false positives, and in the end an unneeded surgery where it might not have happened in a less MRI machine dense area, neighborhood, etc.

So why is this interdependence between these MRI scans, false positives, and an unrequired surgical processes presenting itself?

It’s really truly straightforward to see why now I think. Dismally, this presents itself all too often in the medical field or when we can't realize the desired results we are trying to find. We start going from one health care provider and/or procedure to the next in an ongoing spiral, out of control often.

After that when we realize we have been unsuccessful we become desparate to find an option for the condition. Conclusively, we meet with a doctor who listens and cares about assisting you with your lower back pain and will exhaust every option available. Clearly, if your health care professional has higher than average access to MRI devices he is much more likely to request an MRI scan of your lower back. When you fall into the 20 percent of those with a healthy back that looks like there might be a concern, you and your doctor now have solid facts from the MRI machine that something is indeed wrong with your lower back and that a surgical process may be the optimal option to cure your lower back discomfort when this is not essentially correct.