MRIs - The Positives and the False Positives
Tests – what are they good for?
When it comes to back pain tests, of MRIs that question must be examined. What are MRIs good for when the percentage of useful, influential MRI studies is so little? False positive MRI results upset those who receive these results. They inspire fear or caution where it’s not always needed. MRIs like this confuse the proper treatment plan. They cost quite a bit. Amelia Chiropractic Clinic carefully evaluates the need for MRI in the Fernandina Beach chiropractic treatment plan of Fernandina Beach back pain relief.
MEDICINE’S VIEW
Interpretations of MRI images by radiologists often differ. The true-positive finding rate was 56.4%, and the miss-rate was 43.6%. (1) MRI imaging may cause misleading suspicion. When following the guidelines of the American College of Radiology, 93% of lumbar spine MRIs were proper. Of those, only 13% revealed anything that needed to be addressed. Of the 36 MRIs that raised suspicion of cancer or infection, 81% were false-positive. 59% of the follow-up MRIs on those suspicious findings were false positives. (2) MRI imaging may misinform. For example, MRI shows that the presence of disc degeneration in asymptomatic persons – persons with no back pain – rises with age: 37% in 20 year olds and 96% in 80 year olds; disc bulges: 30% to 84%; disc protrusion: 29% to 43%; annular fissures 19% to 29%. These imaging findings indicate that these are signs of normal aging. They remind all doctors, remind chiropractors like yours at Amelia Chiropractic Clinic, to correlate all such findings to patient symptoms. (1,3) Your Fernandina Beach chiropractor does this!
CHIROPRACTIC’S VIEW
Choosing Wisely guidelines for American chiropractors suggest30 not repeating spinal imaging and not getting spinal imaging for patients with acute low back pain in the first 6 weeks of back pain (unless there are “red flags” – issues that indicate something more disturbing). (4) A review of the success of the Canadian Choosing Wisely recommendations for imaging nonspecific spinal pain and symptoms reported that there is very low risk of missing a serious cause of back pain. (5) The objective of guidelines is less imaging, fewer false positives. Amelia Chiropractic Clinic wants what is best for our Fernandina Beach chiropractic care patients.
COX® TECHNIC’S VIEW
Chiropractors like yours at Amelia Chiropractic Clinic review all the symptoms, tests and images our Fernandina Beach chiropractic back pain patients [[present on|bring with them39] their first Fernandina Beach chiropractic visit. So many back pain patients present to Amelia Chiropractic Clinic with MRI images already in-hand. Amelia Chiropractic Clinic will study them but will depend more on clinical exam findings and correlate them to what the MRI reveals. A rule of thumb with the Cox Technic System of Back Pain Relief is to seek 50% reduction of back pain in the first month of care before arranging more imaging or testing or referring for surgical consultation. (6)
CONTACT Amelia Chiropractic Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Dan Clark on the Back Doctor’s Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes imaging for back pain in the scheme of treatment for pain relief.
Schedule your Fernandina Beach chiropractic appointment with Amelia Chiropractic Clinic today. Let’s explore together the best path to Fernandina Beach back pain relief – with or without MRI imaging!
