Radiological imaging for diagnosis work injury are tests to help the doctor make a successful diagnosis. To get the best results attorneys at McCormick Law Office use MRI and other tests to support a doctor’s opinion that an injured worker’s condition is work-related. Imaging is trustworthy, honest evidence to help get workers comp benefits.
X-rays show problems with bones, such as infection, bone tumors, or fractures, and information about degeneration in the spine, such as the amount of space in the neural foramina and between the discs.
Special X-rays called flexion and extension X-rays help to determine if there is instability between vertebrae. These X-rays are taken from the side as one leans as far forward and then as far backward as possible. Comparing the two X-rays shows how much motion occurs between each spinal segment.
The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan is painless and noninvasive using magnetic waves to create pictures of the spine in slices. The MRI scan shows the spine bones as well as the soft tissue structures such as the discs, joints, and nerves.
The computed tomography (CT) scan is a special type of X-ray that shows slices of bone tissue. The machine uses a computer and X-rays to create these slices, used primarily when problems are suspected in the bones.
The myelogram is a special kind of X-ray test where a special dye is injected into the spinal sac. The dye shows up on an X-ray, helping to show a herniated disc, pressure on the spinal cord or spinal nerves, or a spinal tumor. The myelogram is usually combined with CT scan to give more detail. Since the advent of MRI, myelograms are less common.
The discogram is two-part specialized X-ray test. First, a needle is inserted into the suspected problem disc, and saline is injected into the disc to create pressure. If this reproduces the pain, called concordant pain, then it suggests that the disc is the source of the pain. During the second part of the test, dye is injected into the disc. The dye can be seen on X-ray. Using both regular X-rays and CT scan images, the dye outlines the inside of the disc, showing abnormalities of the nucleus such as annular tears and ruptures of the disc.
A bone scan is a special test where radioactive tracers are injected into the blood stream. The tracers then show up on special X-rays showing where bone is undergoing a rapid repair process, such as a healing fracture or the area surrounding an infection or tumor.
Radiological imaging for diagnosis work injury supplement the doctor’s clinical exam and the patient’s history in determining whether a neck or low back condition is work-related.
