MRI cervical spine: when is the examination necessary?
Various diseases and injuries of the cervical spine can be detected or ruled out with the help of an MRI. These include, for example
- Herniated disc in the area of the cervical spine
- Inflammation of the spinal cord (e.g. multiple sclerosis and transverse myelitis)
- Inflammatory diseases of the bone marrow (osteomyelitis)
- chronic inflammatory disease of the spine (spondyloarthritis such as ankylosing spondylitis)
- Benign or malignant tumors in the area of the cervical spine
- Vascular malformations (arteriovenous fistulas, aneurysms) in the area of the cervical spine
- Injuries to the cervical spine and persistent complaints following whiplash injury (cervical spine distortion)
- generally for all unclear complaints in the cervical spine area (cervical spine syndrome), especially if they persist and/or increase over a longer period of time
MRI cervical spine: How does the examination work?
In order to obtain optimal images, the patient must lie as still as possible during an MRI scan of the cervical spine. For this reason, the patient’s head and shoulders are usually immobilized with pads.
An MRI cervical spine usually takes about 20 minutes, but can take longer for more specialized questions and especially for functional diagnostics.
