X-Rays and Back Pain

M

Megss

New member
My doctors believe I have a herniated disc (pain in lower back on left side as well as left groin pain and pain that shoots down my left leg...going on for 5 months now), although I have not had an MRI yet. My appointment is for next week. Today I went to Urgent Care because the pain is getting to a point that I cannot deal with it anymore. Not sure if you all have Urgent Cares where you live, but they are basically walk in clinics for things that cannot wait, but are not life threatening. Urgent Cares are not equipped with MRI's, but do have X-ray machines. I had an x-ray of my lower back and pelvis, which came up normal. The doctor told me it would not show a herniated disc, but the x-ray lady said that it would show a space in the spine if a herniated disc were present. Which is true??? So I was sent home with Prednisone, [again], and pain meRAB to get me through the next week until my appointment.
Have any of you with Disc issues had x-rays? And if so did the x-ray show any evidence of it? If I don't find out [soon] what is happening in my lower back I might loose my mind!:dizzy:
 
When I first injured my back lifting a patient, they did lurabar x-rays and told me everything looked "normal". 6 months later I had an MRI done and it showed herniations at L3-4, L4-5 and L5-S1 as well as evidence for a annular tear at L4-5. I had very minimal disc space narrowing at the time though.

So...yes...x-rays can show decrease in disc space but not why there is a decrease or what is going on with the disc itself. MRIs are not really conclusive either. I can't quote the reference, but studies have shown that a certain percentage of MRIs done on healthy pain-free individuals show disc bulges/herniations. Just because an MRI shows that you have a disc herniation, doesn't mean that it is the cause of your pain. The cause of your pain could be the facet joints or your sacroiliac joints, or myofascial. This is why it is important for your symptoms to be taken into consideration as well as test results such as MRIs/CT scans and X-rays.

I know what it is like when you are waiting for results and you just want someone to tell you why you have pain...it is frustrating. But...knowing the result won't make your pain go away...although it may make you feel justified, because you can prove it is not all in your head as well as give you some options for treatment in the realms of physical therapy, chiropractice, injections, surgery, etc.

Hang in there:)
 
Hi,

x-rays cannot show an actual disk bulge or herniation...they can only show narrowing between. An MRI would be best to check for any herniations or other problems.
 
Thank you Crystal-

The doctor actually called me back and they did find something on my x-ray. They just didn't know while I was still at the office because a radiologist hadn't looked at them yet. (the doctor I saw was looking for evidence of a herniation or for bone cancer) They found Spondylolisthesis. I have little fractures in my spine which have caused one of my vertabrae to slip out of place.
Believe me, I was starting to wonder if people thought it was all in my head!
 
Ok so if a person has these symptoms, and they are told to get an MRI, then what? How do you correct a herniated or slipped disc?
 
Well, a herniation might be able to be resolved in several ways, or it may not resolve at all. Sometimes physical therapy helps, sometimes people get ESI's to relieve the pain so that they can do physical therapy in hopes the disk will resolve. Many times herniated disks resolve on their own over time. And some people have chronic problems with a disk and end up needing surgery to snip the bulge or herniation away. But there is no sure fire guarantee that anything will or won't help.
 
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