The Trouble With MRI’s

Posted in: Research | 0

A New York Times Article explains some of the pitfalls of putting all of our trust in MRI’s.

Dr. James Andrews, a sports medicine orthopedist, being skeptical of MRI’s performed MRI scans on 31 healthy professional baseball pitchers. The pitchers did not have any injuries or feel any pain, but the MRI’s revealed a different story.  According to the MRI scans, 90% of the pitchers had abnormal shoulder cartilage while 87% had abnormal rotator cuff tendons.  “If you want an excuse to operate on a pitcher’s throwing shoulder, just get an M.R.I.” commented Dr. Andrews.

According to Dr. Andrews, the problem is that there is an over reliance on MRI’s.  MRI’s are only a part of proper diagnosis with more emphasis needed on a proper interview and physical.