“Seeing is believing.” Ever heard
that saying before? Soft Health and Healing Clinic bets you have. Soft Health and Healing Clinic knows
that Brooks back pain patients many times would
like to see the cause of their pain. (They already believe
their pain!) Today, imaging does
not always fulfill a patient’s desire to see the source
if it’s because of 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 Brooks back pain patients can believe that
their Brooks chiropractor will thoroughly tell
them the cause of their pain…and set a treatment plan to ease
that pain.
THE GOOD OF IMAGING
Today’s imaging recommendations
are all about reducing imaging exposure and
cost. The concern of radiation exposure is being dealt with by careful
examination of low back pain patients for more specific findings,
reducing radiation dose and doing more MRI
than CT. These efforts in turn reduce the cost of
imaging. (1) Recommendations today are to hold off on imaging for 6-8 weeks of conservative treatment. Soft Health and Healing Clinic 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 a month pass without such improvement, imaging is ordered. These are win-win scenarios for
Brooks back pain patients and their healthcare providers like your
Brooks chiropractor most of the time.
BACK PAIN SUFFERERS WANT TO “SEE”
Other times (and Soft Health and Healing Clinic 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 added
layer of curiosity as it is “non-specific” and doesn’t
always have a glaring cause for the pain. The
public and patients believe imaging helps determine the back
pain condition. They are not alone as some healthcare professionals do, too. (2)
That is likely why patients and their healthcare
providers want MRI and xrays.
MEDICINE AND SPINAL IMAGING
Interestingly, for years, medicine downplayed the idea
of imaging for spine problems. Today, medicine becomes more
and more interested in it. For cervical spine myelopathy, for instance,
treating physicians depend on imaging to ascertain the severity of it. Particularly, a group
of researchers considered the possibility that imaging helped see the relationship between lumbopelvic
alignment and cervical alignment and resulting cervical spine
myelopathy severity. (3) Imaging has its positives. Your Brooks
back pain specialist at Soft Health and Healing Clinic wants to be sure imaging is positively
contributory to the treatment plan for our back pain patients’ final
recovery and pain relief. We realize that “seeing is believing” and
respect what imaging contributes to the treatment plan when needed.
CONTACT Soft Health and Healing Clinic
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 Brooks chiropractic appointment at
Soft Health and Healing Clinic to more fully comprehend your back pain and
its relieving treatment plan whether you can see its source or
not because you definitely already believe you
have pain. Soft Health and Healing Clinic believes in its relief. You can, too.