The pearls and pitfalls of magnetic resonance imaging for the spine

Musculoskeletal imaging of the spine can be an invaluable tool to inform clinical decision making in patients with spinal pain. An understanding of the technology involved in producing and interpreting high-resolution images produced from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the human spine is necess...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy 2011-11, Vol.41 (11), p.848-860
Main Authors: Elliott, James M, Flynn, Timothy W, Al-Najjar, Aiman, Press, Joel, Nguyen, Bao, Noteboom, J Timothy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Back Pain - diagnosis
Back Pain - pathology
Cervical Vertebrae
Humans
Lumbosacral Region - pathology
Magnetic Resonance Imaging - adverse effects
Magnetic Resonance Imaging - instrumentation
Musculoskeletal Diseases - diagnosis
Musculoskeletal Diseases - pathology
Spinal Injuries - diagnosis
Spinal Injuries - pathology
Spine - pathology
Thoracic Vertebrae - pathology
Tomography, X-Ray Computed - adverse effects
Tomography, X-Ray Computed - instrumentation
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Summary:Musculoskeletal imaging of the spine can be an invaluable tool to inform clinical decision making in patients with spinal pain. An understanding of the technology involved in producing and interpreting high-resolution images produced from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the human spine is necessary to better appreciate which sequences can be used for, or tailored to, individual patients and their conditions. However, there is substantial variability in the clinical meaningfulness of some MRI findings of spinal tissues. For example, normal variants can often mimic significant musculoskeletal pathology, which could increase the risk of misinformed clinical decisions and, even worse, poor or adverse outcomes. This clinical commentary will highlight some of the pearls and pitfalls of MRI for the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions, and include cases to illustrate some of the common imaging artifacts and normal variants for MRI of the spine.
ISSN:0190-6011
1938-1344
DOI:10.2519/jospt.2011.3636