If i had a gynae mri, would my bones be visible or would it 'miss' them

[KatyMac]

Im guessing thats a stupid question

I have horrid back& hip pain, lower back and high up at the bottom of my shoulder blade (for about the last 40 years) it comes and goes and is very bad right now

I recently had an mri gynae/bladder and wondered if a physio could look at the mri somehow (is that allowed) & how would I go about it

I've had dexa scans which mentioned "quite severe degenerative changes in my spine and hips" but the gp ordered an xray which said everything was fine

I also have Fibromyalgia ME/CFS, IBS, hypothyroid and hypermobility

I had an MRI privately because NHS x-ray showed nothing wrong. The scan showed scoliosis, stenosis of the spine in the lumbar region and an arthritic hip.

I did get a letter noting the MRI results to give to my physiotherapist.

Well I have this mri i just dont know if it would be any good for the physio? Or if they could even ask to see it

It would show bones yes but the clearest view is the area the coil was placed on the mri so the rest of the area might not be clear enough if it wasn’t the subject of the mri. Also you need someone who can read mri scans and identify those things. It isn’t quite as simple as reading an x ray.

I had a feeling it wasn't straightforward

Poop!

Never mind

Contact a private orthopaedic surgeon. They will be able to access it with just your NHS number.

My private orthopaedic surgeon and the radiographer did access two of my NHS x-rays. They'd been taken at the wrong angle apparently. The one they took showed a collapsed femoral head in one hip and stage 4 arthritis in the other. Bear in mind the x-ray was two months later than the NHS one.

Problem isbi don't even know if "quite severe degenerative changes in my spine and hips" is something an orthopedic person couldn't something about

Hi op.

I had a private mri of my foot to identify the source of my pain.

The ortho told me to photograph the screen so I could show the inflammation to my physio.

You can ask for the images to be sent to you or a consultant of your choice.

If this was private you paid for it. They are your records and you can use them how you wish.

No it was nhs

They are still your records when via the NHS.

When I had an MRI of my spine, a detailed report was made about the findings. I have a copy of that. That was private..

When I had a full bone isotope MRI or CT scan (can't remember which), a detailed report was made of the findings. I have a copy of that. That was private.

Medical reports are the subjects personal.data and the subject is entitled to a copy.

Were you also also sent the image?

Its the written report that is written by a radiologist that a physio could use to help your future treatment. Although a physio might have some knowledge of reading the MRI films, they don't specialise in reviewing and diagnosis from photos, so the images alone a fairly useless for them.

Your GP should be sent a copy of the report. If you didn't also get the report, ask your GP surgery for a copy and give that to your physio. And yes, MRI does show bones also.

Ok so I need to

Request my mri from gp/hospital
Find a physio to look at it & possibly refer me to an ortho

Or would the physio refer me back to the gp for the ortho?

Sorry my brain fog is making itself present atm

Of the spine, yes. The full body one, I don't think so but it wasn't necesary and presumably there would have been too many films.

Correction: the full.body isotope scan was on the NHS

The physiotherapist won't be able to interpret the images but if the report mentions anything about your bones then they may be able to glean some information from that. It may be that there is nothing in the report about your bones/joints or just a short comment and so it may not be of help to you. There is something called "protocolling" which is where the radiographers (healthcare professionals who do the scans) take different sorts of images depending on what the doctor wants the scan for and so it may be that getting a specific scan for your pain gives more information (you could ask your GP about this but they may advise you that it would need to be done privately if they don't see an indication for it). Certainly I would be surprised if your gynae/bladder scan extends as far as your shoulder!

A lot of your diagnoses have a psychological element do you have health anxiety??

Possibly and im almost certainly anxious about being ill continually

But at least the blood tests support some of my problems (low vit d, B12, zinc etc oh & thyroid) and the joints that move in odd ways they are pretty unambiguous

Once you have a chronic condition getting anything else considered is bloody hard - for example my thyroid was (TSH) was out of range for about a decade until I knew enough to ask why

And of course the endometriosis (which i didn't mention as it probably isn't joint related) is also pretty visible at least when they do the surgery

But in addition to that i probably do have health anxiety too

But you know my bone density is fine and I rarely have problems with my....hmm struggling here, I know - my hearing is good - the rest of me is a rag bag of autoimmune conditions and pain that got worse after covid and again after menopause

@Alethea2025 I was pretty sure I was reaching for the impossible

But I only seem to get things diagnosed after i go private, so i was being a stingy cow and trying to shortcut

All scans both private and NHS are reported/ interpreted by a radiologist who is a doctor who specialises in the interpretation of imaging. Not by the physiotherapist (many are pretty good at image interpretation but it is not a core part of the role.)
Edited to add that a lot of private scans( those which require payment without actual referrals from doctors) are not full diagnostic scans.
If you go private you can self refer to an orthopaedic/ spinal specialist and they can order the appropriate scans

Joints that move in odd ways and autoimmune conditions?

do you also have ehlers Danlos syndrome?

like others have said ask your gp for an mri, a radiology person will do the initial report within the nhs system and that report goes back to your gp. Make an appointment with the gp to discuss next steps and possible orthopedic referral if they think it’s necessary. Sadly degenerative changes could be down to age and unable to do anything. Or it could be something not orthopedics related, I was referred to rheumatology after my MRI for back pain.

What exercise do you do? I am plagues with back and joint issues (mainly related to EDS) and the best advice I got was to do strength work. I do weight lifting in the gym but more importantly I do mobility type work at home. There’s loads of YouTube stuff, I like a guy called Run Better With Ash. I don’t run and his videos aren’t about running but are about exercises to reduce your chances of injury when running and I find his routines very good generally.

If it’s been a problem for 40 years then it wouldn’t be the current degenerative state of your bones though. Would it not likely be soft tissue like tendons if you gave hyper mobility?

Not sure if I understood correctly / right terminology but I had an mri on my back which showed gynae issues so was sent for a pelvic mri. When I asked why they couldn’t use the spinal mri I was told there are settings for bones and settings for tissue. The wrong setting shows issues but not in enough detail to be able to show what was needed.

Could also be an autoimmune condition like ankylosing spondylitis which would tie in with decades of back pain. Obviously I’m not saying it’s that but just that an mri would be a good starting point to rule things out as well as potentially pick something up.

Theres a good chance it might not show anything but at least that would reassure OP and get her thinking ok it’s my joint instability causing the issues so what can I do to minimise the pain from that (strength work). I consider my strength work like an annoying part time job which I have to do regardless of tiredness, pain etc. otherwise I know I’m on a downhill slide.

My dad had ankylosing spondylitis & my brother has RA (he also has a replacement knee and a fairly major shoulder op) but I dont have the right markers for either, they were ruled out in my 30s when fibro & HM was diagnosed

Strength training is important but pretty incompatible with PEM, but I try

Thanks @Justkeepsmilingx that makes perfect sense and I wont carry on with that line of thought

@shockmethen it got suddenly worse about 2 years ago

I may have eds or even mcas (my allergies are erratic and unpredictable) but my gp wont discuss or refer for either

I'll keep on keeping on till ive saved enough for another foray into private

@KatyMac thats astonishing that your GP won't look at EDS or MCAS.

I took my teenage son to a GP recently - he is on the spectrum and was complaining of dizziness and pain. GP immediately tested him for POTS and did the Beighton score on him.

Fwiw the diagnostic criteria are changing for EDS later this year so you might have more 'luck' then with GP.