Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine — terrific test or tar baby?

Back pain affects nearly half of all adults during a given year, and about two thirds of adults have back pain at some time in their lives. It is the second leading reason for visits to physicians in the United States and the leading cause of work-related disability¹. Unfortunately, the cause of back problems is often obscure, in part because symptoms, anatomical findings, and imaging results may be only loosely associated. Thus, up to 85 percent of patients with low back pain cannot be given a definitive diagnosis². This diagnostic uncertainty contributes to the large number of fads.