Possibly the number one question I get from clients on a daily basis is…

“Should I get an MRI for that?”

Hey… I get it… you’ve got pain that won’t go away and you want to see what’s going on inside… why not?

Not so fast!

What if I told you that getting an MRI too soon (or when you don’t even need one) can actually lead you to getting unnecessary procedures, or even surgery!

Don’t get me wrong…

MRI’s are an amazing advancement in medical technology that have saved many lives. And if you’ve had trauma – like a major fall or accident – or you’re exhibiting symptoms that we call “red flags” (progressive/serious neurological deficits, bowel and bladder issues, unrelenting/unexplainable pain) – then you want to get an MRI. But when it comes to musculoskeletal pain (back, neck, knee, hip, shoulder, etc) – again – unless you’ve had a major fall or trauma – you typically DO NOT need an MRI.

Let me explain…

When it comes to musculoskeletal pain – 80% of the time it’s what we call “mechanical” in nature. That means it’s due to the way you are (or aren’t) moving. For example, let’s say you’re suffering from low back pain and terrible sciatica. Most people in this situation want to get an MRI. And it will reveal anything from a bulging disc, to stenosis, to arthritis, to degenerative discs. Whichever one of these “ailments” shows up on your MRI will typically get blamed as the source of your problem. From there – you’ll typically be prescribed some type of procedure (or surgery) to “fix” said ailment.

Sound familiar?

Well… here’s the thing… research has shown over and over that these so-called ailments appear in the MRI’s of just about everyone over the age of 50. In a 2015 study by Brinkjiki et al – they did MRI’s on over 3000 people who had NO back pain. And you know what they found? For people in their 60’s – they found that 70% of them had disc bulges – 88% had disc degeneration – and 50% had facet degeneration (something you often see with arthritis). And as the age groups increased – so did these ailments!

The meaning of this and other studies like it is profound…

It means that you absolutely can NOT rely on your MRI to diagnose your problem.

It also means that many people are getting procedures on these normally occurring structural ailments when it’s not even the root cause of the problem.

So what IS the root cause of the problem?

Typically – it’s “mechanical” – meaning your problem has to do with the way you move, bad postural habits learned over the years, muscular and joint imbalances, or “wear and tear” issues. It’s also why we tend to see more mechanical problems show up in people once they hit age 40 and beyond – because these problems take awhile to manifest.

Although the pain you experience may be coming from one of those ailments we spoke about earlier (for example – a bulging disc irritating your nerve route – a meniscus tear irritating your knee when it moves) – the root cause is how your movement habits are irritating the structure. When you fix the movement problem – the structural issue becomes irrelevant – at least 80% of the time.

If you’re confused – I don’t blame you.

Most medical doctors are not trained in what mechanical pain truly is or what it means. They are trained to diagnose problems using images such as Xrays and MRIs. Nothing wrong with that of course – but it can become a problem when you do an MRI too soon – without first ruling out if your pain is due to a mechanical cause.

If you’re currently suffering from back, neck, hip, knee, shoulder, ankle pain, etc… and you’ve been told you need an MRI to “figure out what’s going on” – hold that thought!

Why don’t you first consult with a mechanical pain specialist. There’s an 80% chance your problem will fall into this category. And you can save yourself from unnecessary treatments that might not work.

You can talk to one of our mechanical pain specialists for free by clicking HERE. It’s a completely free, no-obligation appointment that will give you all the information you need to make the best decision for YOUR health – whether that’s working with us or not!

Dr. Carrie Jose is a Physical Therapy Specialist and Mechanical Pain Expert, and owner of CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth, NH. To get in touch – or inquire about getting help – CLICK HERE or call 603-380-7902

Pain can be frustrating and overwhelming, especially when it doesn’t go away.

It’s only natural to seek answers – and for many – that means a trip to the doctor. But here’s the thing. Even the best doctors can miss the true source of your pain.

Why?

Because too often they rely on imaging (like MRIs or X-rays) focused on the location of your pain – rather than considering the true source of your pain – and that it could be coming from somewhere else in your body.

I often see this with pain in areas like the hips, knees, elbows, arms, and legs. Take persistent knee pain, for example. Most doctors will start by ordering an MRI of your knee – which might show things like arthritis or a torn meniscus. But what you may not realize is that these findings are common as we age and often appear in people who don’t have knee pain at all.

The problem is

– once something shows up on your MRI – it grabs your doctor’s attention – and becomes the full focus for treatment (even if it’s not the real problem).

This misdiagnosing of pain like this is a huge reason why so many people suffer longer than necessary. It also leads to unnecessary surgeries, procedures, and treatments that never address the root cause of the problem. Back to our knee pain example, your doctor might not even consider that your knee pain could be coming from somewhere else (such as your lower back). And if that’s the case – no amount of knee-focused treatment will solve your knee pain – all because we allowed the MRI to make assumptions about the root cause of pain and dictate the treatment plan.

What most medical doctors miss is this: The way your body moves and reacts to pain is often a much more reliable way to determine its true source than what shows up on an image. I’m not blaming your doctor – it’s just not how they are trained to examine and look at pain. But it is important for you to be aware of this – especially when your pain isn’t going away. You have to at least consider that the root cause was missed and could be coming from elsewhere.

Let me explain a little more.

Over my 22-year career, I’ve worked with people who suffered from persistent tennis elbow for years – despite trying every recommended protocol – only to discover their pain was actually coming from their neck. I’ve met patients who underwent major knee surgery that failed to bring relief – because the problem wasn’t in their knee at all. I’ve seen patients replace their entire hip – only to find out their real problem was coming from their lower back the entire time.

And this isn’t just my experience. Research backs this up.

A study in the Journal of Manipulative Therapy found that on average, 40% of isolated extremity pain (like your hip, knee, shoulder, elbow, etc) is actually caused by your spine, even when there’s no pain in the spine itself. In these cases, imaging of your knee, shoulder, etc. would only show “normal abnormalities” associated with aging – and not ever show you the true source of your problem – which could be your spine.

So how do you figure out the real cause of your pain?

The key is with specialized movement testing – designed to take into account your whole body, as well as everyday movement patterns and lifestyle. When you work with a mechanical pain specialist who is trained in this type of movement testing, they don’t just look at static images of your body – they look at how your body functions as a whole.

For example – by moving your spine in specific directions and seeing how that movement affects the pain in your knee, shoulder, or elbow – they can determine whether the spine is the real culprit.

So if you’ve been struggling with persistent pain anywhere in your body and it’s not going away – you must at least consider that the location of your pain may not be its source. This is particularly common with pain in your extremities. The problem with traditional medical approaches is that they rely heavily on imaging and assume that what you see on an X-ray or MRI is the cause of the pain.

But pain doesn’t work that way. It’s more complex than a picture can reveal, and it often requires a deeper understanding of how your body moves and responds to find the source.

Pain can be complicated, but finding the source doesn’t have to be. When you consider how your body moves – not just what shows up on an image – you’ll get closer to the answers you need.

Are you in the Portsmouth, NH area?

CLICK HERE to connect with one of our specialists to see if we would be a good fit to help you uncover what may be the real source of your pain.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Mechanical Pain Expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth and writes for Seacoast Media Group. To get in touch, or get access to her free guide: 5 Easy Ways to Get Rid of Back Pain – CLICK HERE – or call 603-380-7902

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Do You Really Need an MRI for That?