Xrays and MRIs may used to help make a diagnosis if clinical examination has not been sufficient, or to help inform a choice of treatments. They are not required for confirmation of a diagnosis or to commence treatment in most cases.
Xrays are a useful way of looking at the bones in the body and are a quick and painless test. However they do use a type of radiation and exposure to this should be limited to when necessary.
An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan is a type of scan that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of your body, including bones and soft tissues. Within the pain clinic, we mostly commonly use these to investigate spinal pains but only when necessary. The scanner is a narrow tube which you lie within. This can be problematic if people are claustrophobic. As the scanner works, there are loud tapping noises and the bed may vibrate slightly. As it is a large magnet, you must have no metal in or on your person: this includes piercings, metal stitches, most pacemakers and implanted stimulators, metal fragments or shrapnel anywhere in the body. We will also not use MRI scans for pregnant people.
Please see the link for NHS guidance on when and when not to scan for spinal pain.