What Your MRI Really Tells Your Surgeon

Your MRI is one of the most important tools your spine surgeon uses to understand what is happening beneath the surface. It’s not just an image; it’s a map that guides your treatment and reveals the specific source of your pain.

An MRI shows the soft tissues that X-rays can’t. It highlights discs, nerves, ligaments, and even subtle swelling that may be pressing on nearby structures. What makes it so valuable is how it helps your surgeon connect what they see on the scan to the symptoms you describe. A good surgeon never treats the image alone—they match your pain pattern to what the MRI shows.

When your surgeon reviews your scan, they are looking for clues:

• Disc health: Whether the cushioning discs between vertebrae are flattened, torn, or bulging.
• Nerve compression: Any narrowing of the spinal canal that might pinch nerves.
• Alignment issues: Small shifts in bone position that could affect balance or stability.
• Signs of inflammation: Swelling that irritates muscles or nerves.

These details shape your treatment plan. If your scan shows a herniated disc pressing directly on a nerve root, your surgeon might recommend a microdiscectomy. If there’s degenerative narrowing, a minimally invasive decompression could relieve the pressure.

The MRI also helps rule out unnecessary surgery. Sometimes an image looks worse than the symptoms suggest. In that case, your surgeon may focus on conservative treatments first, such as injections or physical therapy.

After reviewing your results, your surgeon will walk you through the findings, explain the cause of your pain, and outline a step-by-step plan to fix it. By the end of that conversation, you’ll understand what is happening in your spine and why your personalized approach is the right next step.

Virginia Spine Specialists is an award-winning, minimally invasive spinal care practice with locations in Fredericksburg, VA and Manassas, VA. We also serve these Northern and Central Virginia locations: Haymarket, Gainesville, Culpepper, Front Royal, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Colonial Beach, Tappahannock and Lake Anna.