Doctors Urged To Reduce Back-Pain Scans

X-rays and other imaging tests should not be ordered routinely for low back pain, new guidelines for doctors say. The tests are often not needed, and can cause harm, the report says. An X-ray or CT scan exposes people to radiation. Over time, this can increase the risk of cancer. Tests also can find things that are abnormal — for example, a bulging disc — but are not causing the pain. Sometimes people then get surgery that doesn’t help. Most back pain goes away within a month, the guidelines say. The guidelines were prepared by experts for the American College of Physicians. This is the professional group for doctors of internal medicine. The guidelines are intended to help member doctors, who provide primary care to adults. The journal Annals of Internal Medicine published the guidelines. HealthDay News wrote about them January 31.