The PT Handbook: Do I need an MRI?

Welcome! The PT Handbook is a physical therapy newsletter discussing all things physical therapy/sports medicine. This newsletter is an extension of our philosophy at Art of PT Sports Physical Therapy LLC where our patient population includes combat athletes and gym lovers. We are a PT private practice that prides itself on providing true one on one healthcare.

This handbook will provide practical PT tips and dive into hot topics surrounding the sports rehab world. If you have questions about the field of physical therapy or need to schedule an appointment (virtual/in person), contact us with the link below!

Dr. Gerry Robles PT, DPT

Founder, Art of PT Sports Physical Therapy LLC

www.artofpt.com

PT Handbook Tips: Should I Get An MRI?

Should I get an MRI before physical therapy? This is a question I get many times as a doctor of PT. The answer is, as always, it depends. But I would argue most of the time you don’t need one. Unless it’s a traumatic accident or you have specific “red flags” for the pain you’re having, you won’t need one. How do you know if you are exhibiting those specific “red flags?” Your physical therapist should know. We are trained as doctors of physical therapy to catch specific symptoms and refer to a specialist/surgeon if needed.

There’s more reasons why to see a PT first before getting an MRI, but 2 always stick out to me. First, is MRI’s will most of the time show SOMETHING. These are false positives that oftentimes aren’t causing your pain. Let’s take back pain for example. There are many studies showing people living pain free with MRI’s showing some sort of disc degeneration or bulging disc, but they have no pain? The inverse is also true, people can have crippling pain without much on an image. This discussion involves more details but essentially pain is not always correlated with an image (Xray or MRI). Pain is a complex experience and, as I always tell patients, do not let an image of an Xray or MRI define you. Tissue damage does not always equal the individual’s pain experience. Pain requires retraining of your nervous system and graded exposure to lessen, with or without tissue damage. (more on this in the next newsletter)

Secondly, MRI’s take time and money. You have to go through a specialist/PCP, then schedule it and then more money/time. It can take a while, and most times they will just refer you to physical therapy anyway. So why not just come see a physical therapist first? We are trained to see if your pain requires an image or not. You’d be surprised how many times you won’t need an MRI and can get started with physical therapy right away. As doctors of physical therapy, we don’t need referrals and if you don’t need an image, you can save time/money by just seeing us :)

Until next time,

Dr. Gerry Robles PT, DPT

Founder, Art of PT Sports Physical Therapy LLC

www.artofpt.com