Back Pain Diagnosis

Diagnosing the cause of back pain requires a medical history and a physical exam. If necessary, your doctor may also order medical tests, which may include x rays.

During the medical history, your doctor will ask questions about the nature of your pain and about any health problems you and close family members have or have had. Questions might include the following:

• Have you fallen or injured your back recently?
• Does your back feel better – or hurt worse – when you lie down?
• Are there any activities or positions that ease or aggravate pain?
• Is your pain worse or better at a certain time of day?
• Do you or any family members have arthritis or other diseases that might affect the spine?
• Have you had back surgery or back pain before?
• Do you have pain, numbness and/or tingling down one or both legs?

During the physical exam, your doctor may

• watch you stand and walk
• check your reflexes to look for slowed or heightened reflexes, either of which might suggest nerve problems
• check for fibromyalgia by examining your back for tender points, which are points on the body that are painful when pressure is applied to them
• check for muscle strength and sensation
• check for signs of nerve root irritation.

Often a doctor can find the cause of your pain with a physical and medical history alone. However, depending on what the history and exam show, your doctor may order medical tests to help find the cause.

Following are some tests your doctor may order:

• X ray Imaging
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Computed Tomography (CT) scan
• Blood tests
  • CBC Complete Blood Count
  • SED Rate Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
• Discogram

It is important to understand that medical tests alone may not diagnose the cause of back pain. In fact, experts say that up to 90 percent of all MRI scans of the spine show some type of abnormality, and sometimes the x rays and CT scans of people without pain show problems. Similarly, even some healthy pain-free people can have elevated sed rates.

Only with a medical history and exam – and sometimes medical tests – can a doctor diagnose the cause of back pain. Many times, the precise cause of back pain is never known. In these cases, it may be comforting to know that most back pain gets better whether or not you find out what is causing it.