The Louisiana Claims Associate Educational Conference and Expo was held this past weekend and Dr. Meredith Warner was in attendance to share her knowledge on MRI for lower back pain. The LCA is a Baton Rouge organization represents claims professionals across the state.
Dr. Warner spoke at the event about the misuse of MRI and explained the history of the technology. She touched on how sometimes the technology can do more harm than good when being used as a tool to diagnose less threatening cases of lower back pain.
“Ninety pecent of people will have low back pain in their lives,” Warner said. “Half will be better in a week, 90 percent will be better in two months. Less than five percent entar that ‘chronic pain category. Maladaptive behavior, iactivity especially, increases the chance of chronic pain. We know that.”
During her presentation Dr. Warner questioned why some doctors choose to perform MRIs repeatedly when not indicated. She also expressed confusion over why some professionals opt for immediate use of imaging and narcotics to treat idiopathic low back pain.
“What I see all the time with IMEs and SMOs is the lumbar strain or sprain diagnosis, but no one has actually defined what that is,” she said as she displayed MRI images from her patinets. “See if you can find a lumbar strain or sprain here. You’re no going to find it [on an MRI].”
To read more about Dr. Warner’s presentation at the Louisiana Claims Association Educational Conference and Expo you can visit Louisiana Comp Blog.
