Lumbar MRI Scans – Should They Be Encouraged?

Our very own Dr. John Panagopoulos was asked to write an article for Health Times magazine. Health Times is one of our industry mags and they were interested in whether physiotherapists should be recommending MRI scans for patients with low back pain. In the article, Dr. John described some of the research and reasoning physiotherapists do when deciding whether to send you for any imaging when you have low back pain.

From the article: “The current guidelines for the use of MRI in low back pain patients are sensible and suggest that MRI use should be discouraged in all patients except those who have suspected serious pathology, like a fracture or cancer.”

“MRI should also be considered in patients who have unresolving sciatica (nerve like pain in the leg), as these symptoms are likely related to disc herniations, annular fissures or nerve root compressions.”

Please feel free to read the full article on imaging for low back pain by following this link:

https://healthtimes.com.au/hub/physiotherapy/8/news/nc1/lumbar-spine-scanning/6000/

If you’d like to read more about how we manage low back pain at Active Physiotherapy Newtown & CBD, read the following article: