Try x-rays are over used too. Tear a rotator cuff, you have to have an x ray which shows nothing but bone. Then a shot in the shoulder, because the pain doesn’t go away, then you are sent for an MRI to determine what the damage really is, when they knew all along it was more than likely a rotator cuff tear, which will not show up on a x-ray. MRI should have been done first and saved the cost of the x-rays.
My friend went through that. Just wouldn’t give her an MRI but kept pointing to x-rays that show nothing.
Well, it depends on how you look at things. What if the cheap plain x-ray did show the cause. Think of all the MRI’s you saved from being done.
I could argue that the MRI is usually a waste of money.
Shoulder strains and rotator cuff tears look just the same on exam initially. The strain will get better with time, if healing is slow, a cortisone shot can be helpful. If you don’t get better over time and with a shot, a diagnostic arthroscope makes more sense than an MRI, they can take a look and fix it at the same time.
If your doc doesn’t give you at least a month to heal prior to ordering a scan, they haven’t given you enough time to recover from a simple strain. If the shoulder still isn’t moving in 3 months, you probably need a scope regardless of what the MRI shows.
MRI scans are over utilized a portion of it is unrealistic expectations on the part of patients, a portion of it is justifying treatment to insurance companies, and an even bigger portion is laziness on the part of physicians. In the good old days, the doctor would sit down and explain the injury and normal healing times and schedule multiple follow up appointments to ensure that progress is being made. Now many busy docs just order an MRI without considering whether it alters treatment or not. The patient leaves thinking they have received the best treatment because they have a very expensive test ordered when in fact, the doc is just scooting them out of the office.