When you first meet with your consultant, they will take a medical history and talk with you about your symptoms in detail.They will want to know:
• What are your symptoms?
• How long have you had these symptoms?
• Are your symptoms constant or intermittent?
• Have you had spinal surgery previously?
• How are your symptoms limiting your daily activities?
They may carry out a physical examination, assessing the health of your spine and looking for any signs of nerve problems.
You may also be referred for an MRI scan, this can be arranged for you onsite with our Mobile MRI scanner. These scans are useful for showing the soft tissues and can help to highlight issues like inflammation, disc bulges and vertebral problems.
Some conditions may benefit from other investigations like ultrasound or CT, and these are also easily arranged on-site or at another Circle Health Group Hospital.
Once a diagnosis has been made, your consultant will discuss treatment options with you so that you can make an informed choice about treatment.
It may be that the most appropriate treatment for you will be an injection of a steroid and local anaesthetic, either directly into the source of the pain or around the nerve root (the point the nerve leaves the spinal cord). Depending on the location of the injection, your consultant may be able to administer it during your consultation. Where X-ray guidance is needed, it will be arranged for you at the earliest possible date.