In Geezer's hyper-medicated part of the world, it's hard to find a medical condition that will not land some body part inside an MRI machine, for better or worse, or, in the case of lower back pain, for nothing at all. The BBC reports on a study conducted by researchers at the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) that looked at six trials of more than 1,800 patients and found no benefit from the scans when patients were followed for up to a year. NICE researchers looked at pain, function, quality of life, mental health, overall
patient-reported improvement and patient satisfaction in the care. OK, what should be done for lower back pain?
The BBC cites these guidelines from NICE:
Consider course of manual therapy
Consider course of acupuncture
Consider structured exercise programme
Do not offer an X-ray
MRI only for suspected spinal fusion or other serious underlying condition
Read more on lower back pain from the BBC.
More on how to relieve lower back pain from SportsGeezer.
The BBC must be idiots. They think a MRI helps fix back pain. Anyone with a brain knows that an MRI only pinpoints the problem. An MRI is most important if you have back pain with no relief. It sounds like the BBC thinks a MRI scan is a cure for back pain. It never was and never will be, but it is a great way to find the problem and then a doctor can suggest a treatment. BBC, please get educated before doing any other trials.
As a practicing Orthopaedic Surgeon the main reason my collegues and I order MRI’s for back pain is to satisfy patients who think they know more about medicine than us and demand a scan. Practicing in a sea of litigation happy attorneys requires it. Thats truely where your health care dollars are spent.
Michael seems right, and i wouldn’t want Joseph as any type of doctor for me. My 1st mri revealed spinal cord distortion and compression, with the begining of spinal cord flatenning. the spinal fusion in 2000 has led to 8 and a half years of better life. the second showed no cartlidge, etc at left knee. sept 3rd 2008 i got a new knee and doing great. After much back pain the mri shows a disc fragment lodged in a nerve canal. While i am waiting on a neurosurgery appointment, pain management has improved my quality of life through better medications allowed by better diagnostics. I believe the mri gives a great diagnostic, not treatment, but does allow better treatment due to better diagnostics.
Well said. They make it sound like the MRI should cure your back problem, when indeed it is just a diagnostic tool. I just wonder, also, if this reporter has his facts straight.
Michael,
You have misinterpreted the BBC report regarding MRI for LBP. They are NOT suggesting that MRI is a treatment for LBP. Rather that at one year follow-up, those who had had an MRI were no better off than those who had not had an MRI. In other words, overall, the MRI did not lead to more effective treatment for the LBP sufferers.
Richard, you are an exception as pointed out in the article. For the most part, even after moving a refrigerator or being in a car crash, there isn’t much wrong that an MRI will diagnose. I agree with Joseph, though, in these litigious times, “cover your ass” is the rule. I work in MRI and can safely say that most “back pain” is the result of obesity, inactivity, deconditioning, and whining (trying to get on disability).
30 years plus is when my back problems began. at that time my doctor had no problem detecting what was going on with an x-ray. today doctors tell me an mri is the only (yes, only) way to see what is really going on. so i got an mri. the information was absolutely no different than what came from an x-ray 30 plus years ago. i felt scammed. i had to pay for that mri out of my own pocket. chiropractors only made things worse. medication is rediculous, unless you want to be an outright junkie. now i just exersise and take good care of myself. no more problems. imagine that. i’m told i have 5 discs out (L 1-5), spinal degeneration, and arthritis. i build homes. i use my back and need my back. my advise, get over it! that should anger every one of you. yes, get over it!! it’s not to say i won’t have more episode of pain, and when i do it’s severe. by eating better (i have no weight problem), paying attention to how i move and lift items, and stop smoking (pot, cigarettes). low and behold the problems have pretty much gone away. i truely never thought that was possible. well, it is. get over it!!! get the fat off and pay attention to your health that is your best bet. for those of you who don’t want to hear it. enjoy your pain.