Medical
Evaluation and Diagnostic Testing procedures should
be performed prior to beginning any treatment in order
to determine the treatment process that will be most
effective. The following describes some of the evaluation
testing procedures that can be performed to help confirm
the cause of back pain.
The causes of back pain can be very complex, and there
are many structures in the lower back that can cause
pain. The following are used to test for the cause pain:
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X-RAYS
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An
X-Ray provides an image that can be used to evaluate
bones, joints and degenerative lesions in the spine.
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CAT
SCAN (CT)
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Used
primarily when problems are suspected in the bones
or when a patient can’t obtain an MRI
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MAGNETIC
RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI)
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The
most common test to evaluate the lumbar spine. Evaluates:
*Vertebral bones * Discs * Joints * Nerves * Soft
tissues
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MYELOGRAM
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where dye is injected into the spinal column and
then the area is flexed and x-rayed.
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DISCOGRAPHY
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Discography
is a diagnostic procedure used to determine the
level of the painful disc.
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EMG
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The
EMG/Nerve Conduction Study is a useful test to study
the nerves in the arms and legs.
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BONE
DENSITY
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Bone
density testing is fast, painless, and noninvasive.
During a test, patients lie fully clothed on a padded
treatment table while the machine scans one or more
areas of bone. The entire test normally takes only
minutes.
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BONE
SCAN
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A
Bone scan in Nuclear Medicine is a procedure which
involves two steps:
The
patient is asked to arrive 3 hours before their
actual scan to receive an injection of a small
amount of radioactive tracer that is "tagged"
to a calcium like material. Usually the tracer
is injected in a vein in the arm of the patient.
In some instances, other sites of injection are
used especially for those patients that had difficult
veins to find. The "radiopharmaceutical"
has no side effects and because of this, the patient
can be released from the department for 3 hours
to give the calcium time to circulate and be taken
up by the bone. There are no dietary restrictions
so the patient may eat before and after the injection.
After
the three hours has elapsed, the patient returns
to the Nuclear Medicine department for their scan.
The patient is placed on a table a head to toe
scan is performed by a "gamma camera".
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