Evaluation of Diagnosis Techniques Used for Spinal Injury Related Back Pain

Abstract

Back pain is a prevalent condition affecting much of the population at one time or the other. Complications, including neurological ones, can result from missed or mismanaged spinal abnormalities. These complications often result in serious patient injury and require more medical treatment. Correct diagnosis enables more effective, often less costly treatment methods. Current diagnosis technologies focus on spinal alterations. Only approximately 10% of back pain is diagnosable, with current diagnostic technologies. The objective of this paper is to investigate and evaluate based on specific criteria current diagnosis technique. Nine diagnostic techniques were found in the literature, namely, discography, myelography, single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT), computer tomography (CT), combined CT & SPECT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), upright and kinematic MRI, plain radiography and cineradiography. Upon review of the techniques, it is suggested that improvements can be made to all the existing techniques for diagnosing back pain. This review will aid health service developers to focus on insufficient areas, which will help to improve existing technologies or even develop alternative ones.

Effect of Load Carriage on Lumbar Spine Kinematics

“…Measurements generated from these technologies take into account gravitational and weight-bearing effects, producing a more accurate description of the kinematic state of the spine in real-life situations. 27 To date, kinematic variables such as spine curvature, lumbar spine lordosis, and IVD compressibility have been measured in both young 17 and adult 13 populations using upright MRI. However, these data cannot be applied to the military population for 3 main reasons.…”

Clinical outcomes of single-level lumbar artificial disc replacement compared with transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in an Asian population

“…As ADR cannot address spinal pathologies such as instability and facet arthropathy, the ideal candidate for ADR should have a single black disc on magnetic resonance imaging, with concordant disc pain, and no evidence of facet joint arthropathy. Unfortunately, due to the imprecise nature of identifying pain generators in the spine, (25,26) patient selection can be challenging. It is difficult to predict with certainty which patient will respond positively to ADR surgery.…”

Determination of the 3D Human Spine Posture from Wearable Inertial Sensors and a Multibody Model of the Spine

“…The plain radiography image remains an essential tool for the diagnosis of spinal abnormalities and deformities, and it is still used as the gold standard [5]. It involves sending ionizing radiation (X-rays) through the body to produce a two-dimensional (2D) exposed digital image [6]. The EOS ® imaging system offers the possibility of obtaining 3D information from two X-ray images, by placing two pairs of tubes and detectors orthogonal to each other [7].…”

“…Moreover, in most CT scan and MRI systems, the subject is placed in a supine position and, consequently, their erect posture cannot be analyzed. Finally, CT ($1 M), MRI ($2 M) and EOS ($0.5 M) technologies are expensive and often not affordable for a small business [6,9].…”