Did anyone get an MRI done

[ramana]

Just wondering if anyone had an MRI done before being diagnosed with CP / CPPS.

[GS]

I had a pelvic CT which was normal

[webslave]

Ditto. These imaging tests usually show nothing.

[inflamed]

wish I hadnt, I knew this 2 before getting it done but had the whole what if theory driving me nuts

[mbaker]

I just had a pelvic and abdominal MRI done. Both came back as normal.

--MB

[kevin]

Normal for me too. MRIs can show anatomical abnormalities, but for most of us the problem is physiological (related to the way the system functions).

[prisoner]

Wanted to dig up this discussion.

I understand that our problems are physiological by nature. I can't understand why, with the detailed imaging equipment available, we can't observe this disorder.

Detailed 3-D imaging of the brain helps diagnose many issues. We should be able to identify taut muscles, lack of blood flow at times and nerve dysfunction using these systems.

If we could identify the exact muscle and nerve group and the triggers associated, it should help speed our healing practices.

[carld]

Wanted to dig up this discussion.

I understand that our problems are physiological by nature. I can't understand why, with the detailed imaging equipment available, we can't observe this disorder.

Detailed 3-D imaging of the brain helps diagnose many issues. We should be able to identify taut muscles, lack of blood flow at times and nerve dysfunction using these systems.

If we could identify the exact muscle and nerve group and the triggers associated, it should help speed our healing practices.

Great question...

[Orion]

My Uro wants me to have a pelvic CT done before I start PT. I'll do it, but don't think they'll find anything.

[mbaker]

It'd be nice if an MRI or CT could see trigger points but alas it cannot at this time. The resolution of both is simply not good enough. Dr. Travell in her books mentions that to see an actual TrP, they had to use an electron microscope of tissue in a dog's leg. MRI's and CT can't even typically see nerves either which can be much larger than a TrP.

There is a more advanced MRI called MR neurography which is claimed to be able to see larger nerves like the sciatic nerve. I discussed this with my neurologist recently and he said MR scans can work fine with larger nerves but not smaller ones like the superior or inferior gluteal nerves in the buttock.

So we await technology to improve to the point where it can "see" this stuff. Probably another reason why mainstream doctors aren't always convinced that this is a muscle-tension related disorder - they can't really test for it.

--mb

[kevin]

Wanted to dig up this discussion.

I understand that our problems are physiological by nature. I can't understand why, with the detailed imaging equipment available, we can't observe this disorder.

Detailed 3-D imaging of the brain helps diagnose many issues. We should be able to identify taut muscles, lack of blood flow at times and nerve dysfunction using these systems.

If we could identify the exact muscle and nerve group and the triggers associated, it should help speed our healing practices.

We're at the frontier of science here.

First, I'll say that I believe that if you look at the nervous system of someone with CPPS/IC, you will rarely see lesions or gross abnormalities. The difference will be at a much more microscopic level -- for example, at the synapse, or the junction between neurons, which is unimaginably tiny. The chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome patient's neuron will be completely intact, but it could be secreting a bit more neurotransmitter, because of some irritant, or because it's been conditioned that way. Detecting these kinds of changes with medical imaging is a huge challenge.

It's definitely true that brain imaging helps diagnose a lot of issues. However, these imaging techniques (e.g. fMRI and PET scans) are seriously limited in that they can only detect gross activity in very large areas (thousands of neurons at a time). This makes these imaging techniques very good for some issues, and useless for others. These techniques are being used in urology research right now to a certain degree, mostly at the level of the brainstem or brain. Some scientists are starting to image the spinal cord of animals/humans during urination, but the spinal cord is comparatively very small, and it's hard to tell what exactly is going on there.

Imaging is a very hot area in neuroscience right now. Techniques like multi-unit recording give an amazing amount of precision, but only now are they starting to become technologically feasible. We'll see in future years what they yield.