An MRI is a vital screening test for patients with acute or chronic pain. An MRI can help determine if a pain symptom is caused by muscle, joint, or other structural damage.
Some machines can be used for both left and right strokes. This is called double-lumen technology. Some newer machines feature two rotational speeds, making it double-rotation technology.
Some patients find that they do not enjoy having an MRI as much as a CT or X-Ray but it can be helpful to have this when you are feeling good!
More information: See how your patient reacts to an MRI in the following article and learn ways to help them feel more comfortable during the exam.
Contents:
How long does an mri take?
Most MRIs take around 3 to 5 minutes to complete, with the doctor picking up some images and placing others on the monitor.
Some machines can take even longer, so be ready for that!
You will see this white box on your monitor for a few minutes, and then it will be quiet. This is what the doctor looks at to confirm that the patient is not changing position or anything else during this time.
During this time the patient must remain still, except for removing and replacing the headphones which hold the camera and computer. This must be done with care so that it does not move the bed up or down!
Once this time is over, then the new image data can be transferred to the computer or camera for analysis.
What happens during an mri?
An Mri is a visual examination that uses pictures and videos to help understand your body and health. A mri can take as long as you have in between appointments!
Some doctors will only do an mri once per year for certification. Others do them regularly to help understand patients.
The process varies slightly from doctor to doctor, but the end result is the same – a picture, video, and interpretation.
Dr. Michael Spector teaches us how to do an Mri on his website The Doctornexttoyou! You can watch him do it here or here. He also offers a seminar series called The Medicine Manx where he does this twice per year for professional certification purposes.
Who should get an mri?
People with chronic pain, depression, or any other risk factors should get an mri. It can help identify people with risk factors and prevent pain, depression, and other issues that can impact health and function.
An mri provides a detailed view of your back, but it also determines how long you need to be treated. The procedure takes between 5-12 hours, with the first 6 being spent getting prepared.
You will be asked to walk on a surface that has been cushioned by a blanket or heating pad. You will then be asked to reach behind your back and grab a hard object. This is your pain relief pad! You will need to hold onto this for the duration of the treatment.
After sitting in the chair for five minutes to get ready, the patient must take some time to get up from the table. This requires getting up on one leg and then standing up! After this, they must walk around their home until they are ready to return for more treatment.
Should I worry about getting radioactive material on me?
Although an Mri takes a little bit to fully process your scan, there are no dangerous threats to your health. The only thing that happens is that some of the cells in your body are naturally exposed to radiation.
This reduces some of these cells sensitivity and growth, making it easier for certain disorders such as cancer to spread.
Regardless, cell sensitivity is extremely minimal when it comes to diagnosing cancer. Only a very few specialized tests can confirm whether or not cancer is present.
As mentioned earlier, the Mri does not use digital equipment and does not have a screen. Instead, the radiologist uses special tools to take the scan. This eliminates any chance of miss-reading or misinterpretation.
What happens after the mri?
After an Mri, you can either go back to work or have a short break. If you were working, you could start back immediately. If you were taking a break, you could start again as soon as your next shift is done.
Many people find that they are looking forward to their shifts at work and eager to be finished with them so they can go on vacation. This is totally normal!
You may be returning to work or continuing your career development after having the test. Either way, it helps to have the right information for return-to-work and career-development decisions.
Returning to work after having an Mri is called re-admission. Most hospitals will allow only limited activities and functions during re-admission, due to fear of overexertion or injury. Since this can happen even with good conditioning, it is best not to overdo it!
Having knowledge of what takes place after an Mri allows for a more confident return-to-work decision and input from family and friends.
Are there any side effects?
There are no side effects to an Mri. The image is delivered via a radio signal that travels through your body, reaching the nerves in your brain and heart that receive signals.
The only effect you have on your body when you have an Mri is the slight heating of your skin and internal organs. This happens because the MRI camera uses gradient technology to measure thicknesses in objects, like brain tissue.
When this technology measures thick brain tissue, it can cause slight heating from inside out. This phenomenon is known as axial motion injury (AIM), and it happens rarely, if at all.
In most cases, patients with AIM get good enough recoveries that they can return to work or hobbies! For example, one patient got back to working on his hobby of photography after just a year out.
What should I eat before my mri?
You should eat a balanced, nutritious breakfast and a dinner with enough protein, vegetables, and joy fruits. Your lunch should be filled with healthy fats, and your next meal should be more carbohydrate-rich.
Furthermore, you should drink enough water to keep your body temperature stable. A heatstroke risk is higher when the person is hungry or tired.
What kind of mri does my patient need?
The MRI sequence can be ordered in different lengths.
Do I need to do anything before my mri?
Most doctors will do an Mri if you feel sick or if you have a medical problem that causes seizures. If you have any underlying health issues, these may be worse with the Mri.
There are some doctors who do more than an Mri and call it a neuroimaging test. These doctors use specialized equipment to conduct their neuroimaging tests and then group them into different areas to determine specific problems.
The difference between a neuroimaging test and a neurostimulation test is that the former uses traditional imaging techniques, like X-rays or CT scans, while the latter uses electricity, radio waves, or acoustic waves.
Both can be helpful, just in different ways. Some use neurostimulation techniques for pain control while others use simply to depolarize areas of the brain that need improvement.