“Seeing is believing.” That’s a popular saying. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic knows
that McHenry back pain patients often wish to see the cause of their pain. (They believe they have pain by now!) Currently, imaging doesn’t always satisfy a patient’s desire to see the cause
if it is due to an issue like chemical
irritation when disc material is on a nerve root, so imaging
can only go so far in meeting a patient’s desire to see what’s
going on. But McHenry back pain patients can believe that
their McHenry chiropractor will thoroughly explain to
them the cause of their pain…and set a treatment plan to alleviate
that pain.
THE GOOD OF IMAGING
Imaging recommendations today
are all about reducing imaging exposure and
cost. The concern of radiation exposure is being dealt with by carefully examining low back pain patients for more specific indications,
reducing radiation dose and doing more MRI
than CT. These changes in turn decrease the cost of
imaging. (1) Recommendations today are to hold off on imaging for 6-8 weeks of conservative treatment. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic has followed the Cox Technic System of Spinal Pain Management which suggests holding off on imaging (in the absence of "red flags" which a thorough clinical examination finds) for a month during which time 50% improvement is sought. If 30 days pass without such improvement, imaging is ordered. These are positive scenarios for
McHenry back pain patients and their healthcare providers like your
McHenry chiropractor most of the time.
BACK PAIN SUFFERERS WANT TO “SEE”
Other times (and OrthoIllinois Chiropractic totally understands
this!) patients want to “see” their diagnosis. Words and descriptions and
drawings are one thing while imaging is much more personal.
When it comes to non-specific back pain, there is an additional
layer of curiosity as it’s “non-specific” and does not
always have an obvious cause for the pain. The
public and patients believe imaging helps diagnose the back
pain condition. They are not alone as some healthcare professionals do, too. (2)
That is probably why patients and their healthcare
providers like MRI and xrays.
MEDICINE AND SPINAL IMAGING
Interestingly, for years, medicine downplayed the concept
of imaging for spine problems. Today, medicine becomes more
and more interested in it. For cervical spine myelopathy, for instance,
treating physicians rely on imaging to determine its
severity. Specifically, a group
of researchers considered the possibility that imaging helped visualize the relationship between lumbopelvic
alignment and cervical alignment and subsequent cervical spine
myelopathy severity. (3) Imaging has its good points. Your McHenry
back pain specialist at OrthoIllinois Chiropractic wants to be sure imaging is appropriate to the treatment plan for our back pain patients’ ultimate
recovery and pain relief. We realize that “seeing is believing” and
respect what imaging contributes to the treatment plan when needed.
CONTACT OrthoIllinois Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Dan Clark on The Back
Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes how
valuable imaging can be for a patient’s treatment plan and final
outcome of care.
Schedule your McHenry chiropractic appointment at
OrthoIllinois Chiropractic to understand your back pain and
its relieving treatment plan whether you can see the cause or
not because you definitely already believe you
have pain. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic believes in its relief. You can, too.