MRI diagnostic clinical validity (sophisticated, but still misleading, imaging)
The common misconception and abuse in detecting (diagnosing) and guiding treatment is a foolproof test (i.e. falsehood claimed accuracy of 25%-40%). However reliance of such “tests” is clinically false, because imaging of passive/static abnormalities are incompatible to active/dynamic physical examination and history taking findings, unless correlated accordingly.
Research showed that on 5.000 patients MRI tested, 75% displayed variety of spinal disorders, but none were clinically symptomatic! Spine degeneration is normal in adults due to fact that adults spine are deformed, thus becaming symtomatic or asymptomatic. Errors are due to non-specialistic care procedures, hence misrepresentation within correct integration of clinical examination.
Common factors are financial and non-specialistic. The most important is a history and physical examination, which can not be substituted by anything else. 99% of spinal disorders are mechanically based. Even evaluation of “sensitivity” of clinical diagnostic study (false negatives) and “specificity” (false positives) must be interpreted truly. Accordingly, MRI ratio has shown a significant false/positive ratio in asymptomatic people with a variety of abnormalities in over 20% and over 40% of people over 40. Clinically spinal cord impingement has shown 10-15% in younger individuals, 20-25% of older. In lumbar spine 22% of asymptomatic patients under age of 60 and 57% of over 60 had a significant abnormality of MRI scan.
DISC degeneration (so called “dark disc disease”), was found near 98% in subjects over age of 60. The crucial part of such facts are proof that “normal ageing” is not clinically valid (as seen on scan), being a normal irrevocable process, yet not any cause of patients symptoms. Such facts confirm a complete falsehood of any surgery based upon untrue facts. Imaging study is the surgeon’s best friend (false diagnosis) and patient’s worst enemy (life disability). General screening is dangerous (though financially sound!) and leads to a patient life disability. Costly and misleading studies are not proven… and yet in USA 850.000 useless operations are carried out by “ethically enthusiastic” (!) surgeons with active help of “hardware” corporations to a turn-over of 28 billion USD (of so called) industry.
The phrase “We will get an MRI scan to see if there is anything wrong with the spine” is a false journey into dark unknown. No wonder that surgeons and others so called “spine related self-acclaimed specialists” are clinically blind and operations are carried being clinically false.
