What Happens When You Have Injured Your Back?
Posted on: 27 April 2021
If you have injured your back, then you want to make sure you do everything you can to promote proper healing and to prevent further injuring it. When you injure your back, you want to seek medical attention so you can find out how severe the injury is, so you can be given proper medical advice on how to care for your back, and so you can get help with the alleviation of the pain you are in. You can learn more about back injuries and important issues like MRIs and physical therapy in this article.
You will receive a physical examination
When you go to the doctor for your back injury, they will give you a physical exam, and they may have you try to do some movements in order to determine things like the extent of the injury, the amount of pain that you are in, and to find out what your range of motion is. Range of motion refers to the extent of movement you have, and it is measured in degrees of a circle.
You will likely have some imaging done
The doctor may order x-rays. X-rays can show things like fractures and breaks. However, many back injuries don't involve a fracture or a break, but they can still be serious. Aside from ruling out a fracture or a break, another reason why doctors will start with an x-ray is that most insurance companies require an x-ray to be done before they will cover an MRI. An MRI is the best test for you to have for a back injury because the detailed images they provide can show many different issues that someone may have going on. When it comes to diagnosing a back injury, an MRI is one of the most useful resources doctors have.
The MRI can detect many types of abnormalities that can help show the doctor what type of back injury a person has, where the injuries are, and the extent of those injuries. In fact, the MRI can even show the inflammation that a person has going on in their back. Some examples of the types of injuries it can show include small herniated discs, bulging discs, soft tissue damage, and even pinched nerves.
You will be given a treatment plan
Using the results of the exam, the x-ray, and the MRI, your doctor will be able to determine the best course of action to take to help your injuries. In the case of a serious injury, they may suggest surgery. Other things a doctor can suggest for a back injury can include wearing a brace, going to physical therapy, following certain restrictions, seeing a chiropractor, and they may refer you to pain management for your pain.
Contact a local medical professional to learn more about MRI scans and other medical tests.
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