Dr. Jeff Langmaid explains why early MRI for low back pain often leads to unnecessary invasive treatment. MRIs frequently show abnormalities that aren't causing your symptoms. Try physical therapy or chiropractic care for four to six weeks first before imaging.
Do I need an MRI for low back pain? That's what we're going to answer over the next few minutes. My name is Dr. Jeff Langman. You're checking out the evidence based chiropractor channel. And if you've struggled with low back pain, you maybe have seen a doctor, maybe you haven't yet. You might be asking yourself, do I need an MRI for my low back? That's an exceptionally common question that people have after they hurt their low back. You don't know whether it's a muscle tear, a muscle strain, a disc issue, or. For many people, they believe that the MRI is going to be the diagnostic tool that either them or their physician will utilize to determine the plan of action. While that's true in some respects, there's a few things that you need to be aware of before you rush to lay down in the tube and have that imaging perform. The first thing you need to be aware of is that advanced imaging early on in treatment leads to further treatment. What does that mean? It means that there are plenty of studies out there that showcase if you get an MRI early in your care, you are more likely to have advanced interventions like pharmaceuticals, potentially injections and or surgery. The other aspect of the MRI is you have to keep in mind the MRI shows every single thing that's not perfect and the problem that you're experiencing might be within that. So when I used to sit down with patients at the orthopedic group that I practiced in, I would see MRI reports that were very commonly four to five pages long and it would freak out the patient who had the imaging done. They thought they had one issue. All of a sudden they perceive a laundry list of issues. And the thing I had to tell them, and what I'll tell you if you are deciding upon getting an MRI is the job of your doctor is to sort out the problems from the not perfects. Your MRI report will list out every single item that is not perfect in your low back. And your physician's job is is to determine which of those is actually the issue that you're dealing with by going through that complete history and by going through a proper exam that is critical to being able to create a good plan of action. Because just because something is not perfect does not mean it's a problem. Not perfects on an image are quite often a result of being under gravity and aging. Just because you have things that are not perfect on your MRI does not mean that they are problems. And tying back to our first point, if you get an MRI too Early, it has a very high correlation with leading to advanced intervention. So if you are looking to stay conservative with your care, if you would like to avoid drugs and surgery, then my biggest recommendation is in line with what the guidelines show, which is that you should receive non pharmacological movement based care for at least four to six weeks before even entertaining the idea of, of having an mri. Now, one key point I just brought up right there is that is receiving care for four to six weeks, not just dealing with the pain. So you might have had pain for six weeks, but you haven't done anything about it yet. Your clock has not started yet. It is not about how long you've had the pain, it's about how long that you've had the care and treatment. Physical therapy, chiropractic, movement based care is what the guidelines recommend before you entertain the idea of any drug, even NSAIDs. Now, as time goes on, we continue to learn more about the low back and MRIs have been a fantastic tool over the last 50 years or so for physicians and doctors to really dig deep into what's going on. However, what we have seen is while they are fantastic tools for decision making in the operating room, they are not very good at helping doctors make decisions early on in care. So the answer to the question of do you need an MRI for your low back pain? Is number one, you need to speak to your doctor so they can make that determination for you. But you also should be aware if you are itching to get an MRI or maybe your physician has suggested it before you've done anything else. I would ask them questions and ensure that you are going through guideline recommended care, which includes movement, which includes a little bit of time and patience on your behalf and, and ultimately that's what's gonna help you get the best outcomes later on. If you'd love to learn more about your body, then please subscribe to this channel right here and check out the next video. My name is Dr. Jeff Langmaid and I'll see you very soon. Bye bye. Hey, what's going on? If you loved that video, be sure to subscribe to this channel. The evidence based chiropractor puts out videos all the time at the intersection of marketing and research, showing you how to grow your practice while also growing your knowledge base. So if you liked it, be sure to comment down below or hit subscribe and I'll see you in the next video.
