The bottom line is that not all pain is able to be detected on an x-ray or MRI. That does not mean that there is nothing there that needs to be treated or diagnosed. In fact, it means that it is possibly a precursor to something going really wrong and then eventually needing surgery because it eventually winds up torn.
In most cases, an MRI of the spine will come back showing nothing wrong with the spinal column and discs. However, receiving a normal MRI while suffering severe neck pain can be a good thing. It's a clear indicator that the pain is not coming from a herniated disc but rather a damaged facet joint.
Limitations of MRI
Your doctor may recommend additional testing to confirm or rule out a diagnosis of nerve damage or spinal cord issues. MRI is one of the best imaging tests for revealing soft tissue damage, but it can't show nerve compression or other spinal cord issues.
If your doctor recommends an MRI, the results of the exam can help shed light on the reason why you have back pain. An MRI scan can reveal a range of painful spine and back conditions, including: Degenerative diseases: Chronic conditions, including multiple sclerosis, can be diagnosed with an MRI.
Imaging can identify peripheral nerve tumors, traumatic neuromas, lacerations, entrapments with nerve damage, inflammation, demyelinating features, and infections. Ultrasound and MRI are the most commonly used methods for visualizing peripheral nerves.
MRI is an imaging method that is very sensitive in detecting inflammation and also bone erosions. This makes MRI an interesting tool to measure the course of the disease in randomised clinical trials and this suggests that MRI may also be useful in the diagnostic process.
MRI. MRIs create images using a radiofrequency magnetic field, a technique that clearly shows pinched nerves, disc disease, and inflammation or infections in the spinal tissues. MRI is usually the preferred imaging for pinched nerves.
Your doctor may order an electromyography, or EMG, to see how well your nerves are working. If your EMG is normal and you continue to have symptoms of neuropathy, your doctor may order a skin biopsy to look at nerves that are too small to be tested with an EMG.
MRI can clearly identify some of the signs of osteoarthritis, including whether cartilage is wearing away. MRI can also detect signs of rheumatoid arthritis, but a doctor will also use a variety of other tests, such as blood tests. Doctors can distinguish between soft tissues and fluids using MRI.
The MRI scan provides clear and detailed images of soft tissue. However, it can't 'visualise' bone very well, since bone tissue doesn't contain much water. That is why bone injury or disease is usually investigated with regular x-ray examinations rather than MRI scanning.
During and after your scan, your radiologist will not tell you if something is wrong based on your images.
Key takeaways: MRI scans find nearly 90% of all breast cancers, which is a higher rate than the combined detections of ultrasounds and mammograms. This indicates high MRI accuracy. MRI scans also outperform CT scans for detecting uterine, prostate, and some liver cancers.
Body MRI scans are used to help diagnose or monitor treatment for a variety of conditions within the chest, abdomen, and pelvis. But recent research found that nearly 70% of all body MRI interpretations have at least one discrepancy.
Reasons Why Back Pain Can Be Difficult to Diagnose
Our spine is made up of bones, ligaments, discs, and nerves. Due to all these parts, pinpointing the exact reason and source of pain can be challenging. Where you feel your back pain may not actually be the location of the pain's source.
MRI cancer detection failure
MRIs can not effectively differentiate between cancerous tumours and non cancerous tumours: Therefore, people are frequently misdiagnosed. They also can't differentiate between cancerous tissue and cysts (or fibroids).
Nerve pain often feels like a shooting, stabbing or burning sensation. Sometimes it can feel as sharp and sudden as an electric shock. You may be very sensitive to touch or cold. You may also experience pain as a result of touch that would not normally be painful, such as something lightly brushing your skin.
When you injure a part of the body surrounded by nerves, you can damage the nerves as well. In return, you may experience sensations of tingling, numbness, or burning. Some people feel weakness in a spot that has sustained nerve damage.
Seruya wants his patients to know that after a period of 12-18 months nerve damage can become permanent.
Many doctors use an MRI for sciatica diagnoses. Instead of radiation, MRI scans use a strong magnetic field and radio waves to capture high-definition images of your bones, tissues and organs. It's one of the safest imaging techniques to capture herniated discs that may be causing your sciatica.
An MRI is the best type of imaging for looking at tissue. Your physician may order an MRI on the damaged muscle to find or learn more about your injury. This type of muscle tear imaging can pinpoint the location of even the smallest muscle strains and determine whether a partial or complete strain has occurred.
An MRI scan creates detailed pictures of your spine. It can pick up most injuries that you have had in your spine or changes that happen with aging. Even small problems or changes that are not the cause of your current back pain are picked up.
Dementia
While no diagnostic test alone can diagnose dementia, MRI scans are used for Alzheimer's or other dementias to track the change of the disease over time.
Surgery. If the pinched nerve doesn't improve after several weeks to a few months with conservative treatments, your doctor may recommend surgery to take pressure off the nerve. The type of surgery varies depending on the location of the pinched nerve.