title: JOSPT perspectives for patients. Low back pain: MRIs should be used sparingly in patients with low back pain.
abstract: Low back pain is very common, with 80% of people experiencing back pain at least once in their lifetimes. The good news is that a thorough physical examination can often determine the best course of management and whether you require imaging to rule out a serious problem. Often low back pain can be severe enough to make a patient think that an MRI is necessary. While MRI provides excellent pictures of your anatomy, it may not be able to pinpoint the specific source of your pain. A clinical commentary published in the November 2011 issue of JOSPT summarizes research that describes how the increased use of unnecessary imaging may lead to less than favorable results.
mesh_terms: D004869:Equipment Safety; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation; D005791:Patient Care; D026761:Physical Therapy Specialty; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D014481:United States