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• Annular Tear MRI

Annular Tear MRI

If your doctor believes that you have experienced an annular tear, an MRI might be required to confirm the diagnosis. In most cases, the patient is referred to an imagery center where the test is completed upon appointment. An MRI, or magnetic resonance imagery, is an advanced screening that provides the doctor with 2D and 3D views of the soft tissue in the body, making the identification of the cause, severity and location of spine degeneration, such as an annular tear, easier than ever before.

What to Expect

Here is what a patient can expect during an annular tear MRI:

• The patient is instructed to remove all metallic items and the doctor will double-check to make sure that the patient hasn’t received any surgical hardware or a pacemaker that isn’t safe for MRI use.
• Occasionally, the patient will be injected with an intravenous dye before the MRI for contrast diagnostics.
• During the scan, the patient lays down on their back on the MRI and their head is stabilized.
• The patient will be instructed to remain completely still throughout the scan.
• The patient is put into the MRI scan, which resembles a big tube, and the magnets are turned on by the technician.
• The technician, who is in another room behind glass, begins the MRI scan and can communicate with the patient with a microphone.
• Sometimes the patient will use earplugs to drown out the sound of the magnets.
• MRI scans usually take between 30-60 minutes and are completely painless.

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The Benefits

Like a CT scan or an X-ray, an MRI is an excellent diagnostic tool that has a number of applications. What makes an MRI ideal for diagnosing an annular tear is that the MRI produces images on multiple planes in grayscale. These images clearly show the relationship between vertebrae, intervertebral discs, facet joints, supporting musculature and other aspects of the spinal anatomy, which make achieving an annular tear diagnosis far easier than with other tests.

To request a free review of your annular tear MRI and to learn about minimally invasive endoscopic spine surgery, contact Laser Spine Institute today.

Please note: Laser Spine Institute currently does not perform endoscopic procedures on the thoracic spine.