Physical Therapy: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
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Physical Therapy: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
GBU S2-E28 Imaging Addiction: When More Scans Mean More Problems
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Imaging Addiction: When More Scans Mean More Problems”
We live in an era where MRIs, X-rays, and scans are only a click away—but are we actually helping patients, or just complicating care?
In this episode, we dig into the overuse of medical imaging in musculoskeletal care and why “just getting an MRI” often creates more confusion, fear, and barriers to recovery. As physical therapists, we see the downstream effects every day: patients identifying with findings that don’t match their pain, delayed treatment while waiting on imaging, and increased anxiety over normal age-related changes.
We discuss:
- Why imaging is often ordered too early and too often
- How incidental findings can hijack the rehab process
- The difference between tissue pathology and pain
- When imaging actually is useful—and when it’s not
- Why over-reliance on scans makes our job as physical therapists harder, not easier
This episode isn’t anti-imaging—it’s pro-clinical reasoning, patient education, and smarter decision-making. If you’ve ever struggled to help a patient “unsee” their MRI report, this conversation is for you.