Magnetic resonance imaging has greatly improved the efficiency and accuracy of diagnosing patients with musculoskeletal issues. However, scanning machines are costly technology for medical practices and hospitals – it can take years to see a positive return for the initial investment. Debate continues to rage over the cost to benefit ratio for patients, insurers and the medical community at large, as MR scans are an expensive diagnostic test when compared to x-rays. The big question to be answered is “will having an MR scan change your treatment options for the better”? I have some thoughts I’d like to share on this topic.
As an orthopaedic physician, I appreciate that MRI can visualize what is going on inside of my patient’s body, without me having to surgically cut them wide open or poke a camera inside of them. That’s what I would have done previously to see injuries to soft tissues, such as tendons, ligaments, and muscles before MRI became widely available.
My education and experience as an orthopaedic surgeon would help me to diagnose patients by physical examination and patient symptomology, but before MRI, there was no good diagnostic tool to show musculoskeletal soft tissue damage. I would have had diagnostic x-ray, which would allow me to image bone, its structure, position and visualize if there was a sufficient amount of cartilage in a joint. However, my intelligence on injury or disease affecting tendons, muscles and ligaments would be limited to what I could palpate, observe and what the patient could provide me in the way of feedback.
Having an MRI also provides both the patient and me with knowledge, and you know what they say – knowledge is power. Having objective evidence about what is and isn’t wrong with your body is powerful and gives you the information you need to make important decisions about your life. Deciding whether or not to have a joint replacement, spine surgery or a repair procedure for a sports injury involves major choices regarding finances, family, career, activities, etc. Knowing the difference between you needing a partial knee replacement repair or a total knee replacement is huge. MR scans give me that level of detail and precision and subsequently, give you greater freedom and flexibility in your decision making.
Does MRI catch everything that could possibly be going on in a patient’s body 100% of the time? Of course not. However, I would totally prefer to have MR scanning as a resource for my patients than not having it available. Research has shown that MR scanning prevents one third of surgeries from ever happening because of the knowledge it gives physicians. That is a huge cost savings to our healthcare system, prevention of unnecessary treatments and waste, and the human suffering saved in unneeded procedures.
Do I sound like an advocate for MR scanning? Unashamedly so, and I trust you now understand why I think as I do, for the continued well-being of my patients.