A recent study in the journal Surgical Neurology recommended that MRI’s be done while the patient is in the position that causes symptoms.  This is helpful advice.  MRI’s are usually done while the patient is lying down.  Lying down takes stress off the spine and changes the positions of spinal structures, sometime making things look normal when there’s really a problem.

The authors of this study cite an example of a woman with complaints of pain in her neck and down her right arm, as well as numbness and tingling in some of her fingers.  These symptoms occurred when she turned her head to the right or leaned her head back.  She had tried anti-inflammatory medication, muscle relaxants, opiates, and physical therapy, all without benefit.

When she had an MRI sitting up, she had no symptoms and the MRI was normal.  However, when she had another MRI with her head back and turned to the right – the positions that caused her symptoms – the MRI showed a disc bulge in her neck.  She went on to have an epidural injection, which relieved her pain, and she was able to continue to work.

So this is information worth remembering!

(The study was done by Dr. John W. Gilbert, et. al., and appears in Surgical Neurology, 2008, Vol 69, page 463-465.)