Diagnostic radiology is providing the key to getting a faster and more accurate diagnosis for back and neck injuries that are so prevalent in society today. This immediate ability for doctor’s to get an accurate diagnosis of the injury allows patients to quickly get the care that they need. Diagnostic radiology is the use of imaging, special imaging procedures such as X-rays, ultrasound, CAT scans and MRIs to diagnose injuries anywhere in the body. Today, there’s a term called a biomarker. A biomarker is a biological characteristic that is objectively measured or evaluated as an indicator of a normal or abnormal body process. An imaging biomarker is a biological characteristic that is detectable on an image.
In today’s spinal injury world, we know that the most common injuries to the spine are injuries to the ligaments. Ligament injuries cause two serious problems to the spine that can be accurately identified with two different and completely unique forms of imaging. One is called stress radiology or stress X-rays. And the other is called MRI. These two serious spinal ligament conditions are excessive joint motion from the ligament damage itself and or disc herniation if the disc is involved. The disc injury is accurately diagnosed with an MRI but the excessive joint motion which is often the most problematic condition for the patient with a spinal ligament injury cannot generally be diagnosed with a recumbent lay down MRI. It’s diagnosed with stress X-rays and an accurate measurement procedure performed by board certified medical radiologists called a CRMA.
CRMAs, Computerized Radiographic Mensuration Analysis, is an advanced X-ray measurement technology that allows spinal kinetics board certified medical radiologists to accurately measure the exact abnormal intersegmental motion problems that occur with these spinal ligament injuries.
Excessive joint motion cannot generally be diagnosed with a recumbent, lay down MRI.
Diagnostic Radiology Findings
Diagnostic radiology findings are so important that they drive all factors of spinal care and care reimbursements.
Examples of this are not limited to the care plans of chiropractors, physical therapists, orthopedists, osteopaths or neurologists. They even drive invasive spine pain interventions such as spinal injections, ablations and even surgery to the spine when it’s warranted.
Because of the significance of these findings, and their ability to drive care plans for the doctors that treat them, these bio-imaging markers should be accurately identified by an unbiased, independent board certified medical radiologists. They should never be done by the treating provider who may be biased and try to skew the results in the reported.
Today, with diagnostic radiology, we know that we can solve the inherent problems in this system right now with accurately identifying these spinal ligament injuries. No longer does a patient have to go with a diagnosis of non-specific mechanical low back pain or non-specific mechanical neck pain because today with accurate diagnostic radiology, we can identify the exact location and the severity of the condition that’s now causing the patient’s pain.