Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine
Blair A. Winegar, Matthew D. Kay, Mihra S. Taljanovic
Abstract
Low back and neck pain are common and result in significant patient disability and health care expenditure. When conservative treatment fails or worrisome clinical findings are present, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the imaging modality of choice to assess the cause and complicating features of spine pain. There are many potential aetiologies of spine pain with similar clinical presentation, including degenerative changes, infection, and insufficiency and pathologic fractures. MRI allows for the differentiation of these sources of spine pain and potential complicating features, permitting the appropriate direction of therapy.
Topics & Concepts
MedicineMagnetic resonance imagingRadiologyPresentation (obstetrics)SPINE (molecular biology)Neck painInsufficiency fractureBack painLow back painOsteoporosisPathologyBioinformaticsAlternative medicineBiologySpine and Intervertebral Disc PathologyInfectious Diseases and TuberculosisMusculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation