Adam Rufa - 10/3/2006

Question
Hi Adam,
i was diagnoised with a muscle strain in my back 6 years ago. Do you think that you would still be able to see my injury through an MRI?
i would think you would see some scar tissue or something if thats what i had.
personally i dont think i had a muscle strain, and i need to prove that, any ideas??

Answer
Jodi,

Unfortunately with orthopedic problems there is rarely a way to prove/disprove something. An MRI can show muscle injury however, I highly doubt your problem was a muscle strain. If you look at the medical literature is shows that we are bad at giving a correct diagnosis for low back pain. Often a "crap" diagnosis like muscle strain is given without any proof to back it up. It is very rare for a person to have a muscle strain as a primary problem of back pain. The muscle can spasm and have increased tone but those changes are usually a result of some other problem.

Long story short, I doubt an MRI will help to prove your case.  Even if it was a muscle tear the MRI probably would not show much and there would be no way to prove when it occurred.

Adam

PS: I am not a MRI expert!