by Tara Parker-Pope
Patients suffering from lower back pain often undergo X-rays or imaging scans to detect the source of the problem. But new research shows scanning to find the source of back pain may do more harm than good.
Researchers from Oregon Health and Science University in Portland reviewed six clinical trials comprised of nearly 2,000 patients with lower back pain. They found that back pain patients who underwent scans didn’t get better any faster or have less pain, depression or anxiety than patients who weren’t scanned. More important, the data suggested that patients who get scanned for back pain may end up with more pain than those who are left alone, according to the report published this week in the medical journal Lancet.
