Sometimes you may not easily tell why your low back is aching, and it is crucial to seek an expert diagnosis. You can work with an anesthesiologist and pain management physician in Ionia, MI, to get to the root of your pain. Your provider will combine several techniques involving investigating your symptoms and looking into your medical history. But some medical tests provide more accurate information to help your doctor understand your issue better. You might benefit from the following tests when diagnosing low back pain.
Physical Exam
Your doctor might recommend a physical exam, which might include some tests to understand the exact location of your pain. Your provider might perform the FABER tests where they rotate your hip externally to diagnose sacroiliac joint pain. If you experience pain during this test, it proves that your symptoms are due to the condition. They can also do the straight leg test to investigate if your symptoms are associated with a herniated disc. It involves raising your leg straight in the air while you lie down. Also, you can be requested to bend backward to test for spinal stenosis. It will be painful to bend when you are enduring the condition.
Blood Tests
Blood tests might seem unusual for low back pain but are crucial in understanding the root cause of your symptoms. Your doctor will carry out several laboratory tests on your blood to rule out underlying conditions like infections that could be causing your symptoms. This is mainly important when you do not recall a physical injury or other tests are not finding anything.
X-Rays
This is one of the common imaging tests you can expect when diagnosing back pain. Your doctor might first recommend an x-ray to get some finer details about your condition. You will be exposed to regulated radiation to provide a detailed image of your low backbones. This can help your doctor catch common conditions visible in the bones, like bone spurs and fractures.
CT Scan or MRIs
Your doctor might feel that your symptoms are associated with a condition in your soft tissues, which will call for a CT scan or an MRI. The tests can capture detailed images of your low back’s soft tissues, and lite the cartilage, ligaments, and spinal discs. The information can help your doctor diagnose spinal stenosis, herniated disc, and degenerative joint disease. However, the test results alone might not be enough to give a precise diagnosis, and your doctor will combine other findings to make logical conclusions.
EMG
When you possess symptoms like shooting pain and numbness, your doctor is more likely to recommend an EMG. The test can help diagnose nerve compression or damage by measuring the electrical activity in your body. Although the test will not identify the cause of nerve compression or damage, it will help your provider know how the condition is affecting other parts of your body.
Bone Scan
This is not common like other imaging tests but may be necessary to enable your doctor to have a closer look at your bones. Your provider injects a small amount of a radioactive substance into your body before the imaging, and the test is crucial for osteoporosis or tumors.
There is no better way to know why your low back is painful than to get an expert diagnosis. Never underestimate your symptoms, no matter what you think might have happened to your back. Reach out to the Advanced Pain Solutions low back pain specialists for help in diagnosing your condition.
