Making the Diagnosis
Your doctor will observe symptoms to help make the diagnosis. Your doctor
will also check the spine for tender spots and will test the ability to feel
sensations, co-ordination, muscle strength, and reflexes. The doctor will test
when the pain gets worse by asking the patient to lift their leg, keeping the
knee straight. Since losses of bowel and bladder control are serious complications
of a herniated disc, the doctor will check for muscle tone in the rectum.
Spinal X-rays will show whether the space between the vertebrae has narrowed.
However, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or CAT (computerized axial
tomography) scans will show soft tissue like nerves, muscles, and tumors
that help pinpoint the problem. Myelograms, which are X-ray pictures
taken after a dye is injected, were often used before MRI was available.