Do I need a scan?
MRIs are an amazing tool that can be really helpful in spotting issues, however it’s important to remember that scans don’t show pain. They show the structures inside the body, however pain is subjective - you might look at one scan and think “wow how on earth are they coping!?” when actually the person has minimal pain or discomfort. Equally you may be experiencing lots of pain but not find anything abnormal on a scan.
So why not get an MRI “just in case”?
You may have noticed in recent years it’s become harder to access MRI scans, this is because many of us are walking around with some sort of change in our bodies that could contribute to pain, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is causing the pain; and we don’t want this to lead to unnecessary interventions such as surgery. Imagine how gutted you would be if you went through all that just to still be in pain afterwards because it wasn’t the actual cause. We’d rather exhaust less invasive methods first.
For example did you know that loads of us are walking around with disc bulges without knowing it? It is very possible that even though you have a disc bulge, that has been there for many months, when the pain has only been there for for a couple weeks. An MRI won’t necessarily tell you if the bulge is causing you the pain, or if the pain is incidental.
So when do you scan?
We tend to scan either rule out something sinister, if your condition is deteriorating, or if you’ve you’ve tried conservative care (e.g. physio, medication) and it’s not worked.