Risks outweigh benefits for low back pain imaging

March 2, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Risks outweigh benefits for low back pain imaging By Greg Freiherr Low back pain is so common a complaint that physicians increasingly are recommending against invasive therapy for any but the most serious cases. This approach has led researchers to back up a step in patient management and crunch the numbers behind the imaging procedures that are done to assess and monitor this condition. It's not good news for radiology. Based on meta-analyses of research involving more than 1800 patients, the investigators concluded that resources could be better spent and patients would be better off if MR, CT, and radiography were not performed routinely on patients with low back pain.

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