Your spine is an incredibly complex structure, which is why it can be so hard to figure out exactly what’s going on in your back when pain develops. If you really want to get a handle on your pain, you often turn to an expert, but how exactly does a spine specialist work to come up with an accurate diagnosis? We explain four things we do with each patient to help determine what’s going on in your spine.
4 Ways We Develop A Spinal Diagnosis
When it comes to making an accurate diagnosis, simply relying on one test usually doesn’t cut it. Reviewing the totality of a few different diagnostic tests can help paint a more accurate picture. Here’s a look at some of the ways we come up with an accurate diagnosis.
- Reviewing Your Medical History – Oftentimes we review a patient’s medical data before we meet them in the appointment room. By reviewing a person’s medical history, we can get a good idea of what they’ve dealt with in the past and in turn what potential problems may develop down the road. For example, if a patient’s chart shows they had a previous spinal disc surgery, there’s a chance their new back pain is being caused by how the spine is handling stress following the partial removal of the disc or the insertion of an artificial disc. This is the least helpful of the four factors in making an outright determination of what’s going on in a person’s body, but it can also be essential in helping the doctor begin formulating ideas and looking in the right direction.
- Asking About Symptoms – One of the best resources about a spinal injury is the patient themselves and what they can tell us about their pain and the incident that led to their injury. We often ask each patient to explain how their pain first developed, what symptoms they are experiencing, what makes discomfort better or worse and how symptoms have changed over time. All of this information plays a key role in helping determine what could be going on in your back.
- Physical Examination and Movement Screens – Next, we oftentimes ask patients to allow us to conduct a physical exam. We’ll look at the totality of the spine as well as the specific source of pain. We’ll look for visible issues like swelling or alignment problems, and then we may also ask you to participate in a few movement exercises. Watching you walk, bend or twist can show us which muscle groups are affected or where range of motion is limited. Patient movement, or lack thereof, can be very telling during the diagnostic stage.
- Imaging Tests – Imaging tests are another tool that many spine specialists use to make a diagnosis. An X-ray, MRI or CT scan can help pinpoint exactly what’s going on in your spine and which areas are affected. The first three factors help determine which test will be ordered, because certain imaging exams do a better job of highlighting different structures, like bone, nerves or muscles. Aside from imaging tests, a spine specialist may order a blood test or a biopsy to look for the presence of an infection or cancerous tissue.
Used in connection with one another, these four factors not only help a provider come up with a diagnosis, but they help to greatly improve the accuracy of the diagnosis so that the right treatment plan can be developed. So if you are dealing with back pain and want to get to the bottom of it, trust Dr. Sinicropi and his team to use all the tools at their disposal to help come up with an accurate diagnosis. Contact his office today at (651) 430-3800 for more information or to set up an appointment.
