When a Scan Gives You Information But Not The Answer You Needed.

A scan can give you a clear answer and a route forward. But what happens when it doesn't? 

This episode looks at the uncertainty that can follow, the influence information has on how we move and behave, and why a scan is only one part of a much bigger picture.

© 2026 Shift the Field by AMDtherapie. All rights reserved. 

amdtherapie.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, I'm AMD from AMD Therapy and welcome to another episode of Shift the Field. Last time we talked about what we're actually doing if we're not fighting pain. We look at the full picture, we change the conditions the system is responding to, and we begin to understand what may be influencing the response we're seeing. So let's talk about scans because sometimes a scan gives you exactly what you need: a clear diagnosis and an understanding of what you're dealing with. There may be a need for caution or urgent treatment, something that can be corrected, treated. And even when the answer isn't necessarily the one you'd hoped for, knowing where you stand can bring enormous relief. It is a peace of mind that people have been looking for. And when they when they get it, they know where they are and there is a route forward. But sometimes you have a scan and you still don't know what's happening or what's causing what you feel now. You still have the sensations and symptoms you were trying to understand, and you still don't know why your body is behaving differently. And perhaps more importantly, nobody has given you a clear answer about what to do next. These are two very different positions to be in. And if you could see people in that second position, as I do in clinic, you would see the enormous amount of weight and energy that can move into that uncertainty. They are trying to work out who they can trust, whether they should move or rest, what they can load and whether they're getting it wrong, and knowing what to do in the first place. And sometimes underneath all of that is a much simpler thought. Who can I tell that I'm actually afraid because I don't know where I stand? You went looking for an answer, and now you have more information, but you may be no closer to understanding what is happening or how to move forward. And there's another part of this that I think we underestimate. What happens to your behavior because of the information you've been given? A scan doesn't exist in isolation. You leave with an understanding of what you think it means, and that understanding can influence how you move, what you load, what you avoid, what you pay attention to, and what you expect from your body. I still meet people who refer to scans they had 20 years ago, not simply as part of their history, but as a present-day explanation for why they are the way they are. I've always had this. This is just how my back is. I'll always be like this. Twenty years may have passed, 20 years of movement, load, adaptation, and change, and yet that one piece of information can still sit at the center of how someone understands their body. So I think we need to ask another question. What has happened since? Because a scan may be black and white, but an individual is far from it. I can see two people with similar scans and meet two completely different lived experiences in terms of movement, function, and capacity. Their image may look similar, the outcome can be entirely different. I have a client I see perhaps once every year and a half. He drives for work, sometimes for seven hours a day, and every so often, things flare to the point that by the time he comes to see me, he's struggling to walk fluidly, if at all, and he's leaning like the Tower of Pisa. I treat him once, usually with acupuncture, as part of that treatment, and within a couple of days, he's moving fluidly again and back to driving. Now his anatomy hasn't transformed in 48 hours, and I haven't done anything miraculous to his spine with an acupuncture needle, but something has clearly changed. His movement has changed, his function has changed, and what he can tolerate has changed. That is information too. And this is why I think we need to be much better at knowing what place a scan holds in the full picture. When it gives us a clear answer, we use it. When it tells us something needs urgent attention, we act. When it gives us a clear route forward, that information can be invaluable. It can be life-changing. But when the answer isn't clear, we don't stop looking simply because we have an image. We look at movement, load, function. We look at change over time, what the person can actually do, what has improved, and what changes the response. We take into account the evidence the person is producing in front of us and has produced before the scan ever happened. Because all of that is information too. The question isn't whether the scan is right or wrong. The question is what place it holds in the full picture and what it has taught you to believe about what you can do. A scan may be black and white, but you are far from it. I hope you enjoyed listening to this episode. And if you want to know more on Shift the Field, please go to amdtherapy.com. Thank you for listening and see you next week.