Seeing the Cause of Back Pain on "Films"

Friday July 20, 2007

Rate your back or neck pain symptoms visually with the oucher scale.

_{Photo: Clarita}

More and more, the medical establishment is placing importance on taking "films" for diagnosing back pain. In his latest blog post about disk problems, About.com's guide to Orthopedics, Dr. Jonathan Cluett, echoes the common knowledge among doctors and researchers - that a spine with an abnormal film doesn't necessarily mean a painful spine. Conversely, a cause for back pain cannot always be seen on an MRI or other diagnostic test.

There is a movement of doctors and others who feel that the art of examination is being lost to the emphasis on taking pictures of the spine to diagnose the cause of back pain. You can read more about this in my article Diagnosing Back Pain.

The term "films" often refers to an MRI. It can also refer to an X-Ray, or to other diagnostic imaging tests.