How are herniated disks diagnosed?
Your symptoms alone might be enough to make your doctor suspect a herniated disk, but it’s all guesswork unless he or she takes a picture with an MRI (magnetic resonance image) or a CT (computed tomography). These tests can give your physician a clear view of your spine, leaky disks included. An MRI is probably the best test, because it gives a clear view of the bones, the disks, and the nerve roots that may be damaged. Since herniated disks account for only a small percent of low back pain, however, doctors generally don’t do an MRI unless a patient has both back pain and warning signs of a serious injury or disease. In addition, these imaging tests have a major drawback: They can’t prove that herniated disks (or any other common abnormalities) are actually causing your pain. Indeed, the pictures may just confuse the issue. If a patient suffers from a simple back sprain, a picture of a herniated disk could cause unnecessary anxiety or worse, unnecessary treatment. Many experts now bel
