As if you don’t have enough anxiety not knowing what’s wrong, getting an MRI can be scary. The test itself doesn’t hurt, but you have to lie on an uncomfortably narrow bed and are then sent into tube that surrounds you on all sides, taking x-ray like images that the doctor can hopefully use to make a diagnosis. Every second that goes by feels like an eternity, and you anxiously await the results only to be told they are inconclusive and another test will have to be performed.
There is another way for the same test to be performed, and it is far less traumatic than the conventional method. An Open Sided MRI allows the patient to sit, stand or even lie down for the MRI. Regardless of their position, the machine is open. There are no more feelings of claustrophobia, and you can even watch TV while it is being done.
Another advantage to positional MRI in St. Paul, MN is that it can be performed on just about anyone, no matter their state of mobility. It is also believed that the multi-position ability allows results to be more accurate than a conventional MRI. For example, if you have a back problem that only hurts when bending in a certain way or even when sitting down, when you’re lying comfortably in a position where the pain does not bother you, it makes it a lot harder to diagnose the origin of the problem. Taking the images in the position that causes you pain will allow your doctor to see what’s really going on in there.
Open MRI is also drug free. Though an MRI is pain free and non-invasive, it can still be quite traumatic and many patients require powerful anti-anxiety medication that would not be necessary with a positional MRI available at SUMA-MRI in St. Paul MN.
