UNDERSTANDING BACK TROUBLE: FURTHER TESTS-MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MR OR MRI), ELECTROMYOGRAPHY (EMG) AND BLOOD TESTS
This is available at some hospitals for use in diagnosis. It is very helpful in diagnosing disc prolapse because it shows fluid/solid interfaces very clearly. It can demonstrate epidural fat, root sleeves, nerve roots and the vertebral canal, neural foramina and facet joints. It is particularly useful in identifying problems in the brain and spinal cord and may, eventually, become the preferred method of investigation for disc problems. It does not use X-rays but a powerful magnetic field to observe and measure ‘spins’ of atomic nuclei. It cannot be used if you have any metal artificial joints, plates etc, so you would have to tell the doctor or radiographer about them.
Electromyography (EMG)-This is done in some hospitals if damage to the nerve root is suspected. The functioning of the nerves which supply muscles is tested by using an apparatus for amplifying and recording the electrical activity produced in the muscles. A fine needle electrode is inserted into the muscles of the legs – sometimes those of the back also; this is usually not very painful, not more than an ordinary injection, and leaves no side-effects.
Blood tests-A blood sample may be taken, by means of a hypodermic syringe, from a vein in the arm, and sent to the pathologist for tests, in order to obtain more general medical information, particularly about the possibility of inflammatory joint disease, anaemia, and infections.
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