Workers comp thoracic herniated disc diagnosis begins with a complete history and physical examination. It is very important at this stage for you to give and you doctor to write down a complete history of the traumatic accident that caused your thoracic herniated disc. If there is no single, traumatic accident, but you believe your job duties helped cause you back pain, its absolutely key that your explain to your doctor office what your physical job duties are and how they affect your back pain. Your doctor will ask questions about your symptoms and how your problem is affecting your daily activities. These include questions about where you feel pain, if you have numbness or weakness in your arms or legs, and if you are having any problems with bowel or bladder function. Your doctor will also want to know what positions or activities make your symptoms worse or better.
Then the doctor examines you to see which back movements cause pain or other symptoms. Your skin sensation, muscle strength, and reflexes are also tested.
X-rays show the bones. They normally don’t show the discs, unless one or more of the discs have calcified. This is significant in the diagnosis of thoracic disc herniation. A calcified disc that appears on X-ray to poke into the spinal canal is a fairly reliable sign that the disc has herniated. It isn’t clear why a problem thoracic disc sometimes hardens from calcification, though past injury of the disc is one possibility.
The best way to diagnose a herniated thoracic disc is with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The MRI machine uses magnetic waves rather than X-rays to show the soft tissues of the body. It gives a clear picture of the discs and whether one has herniated. This machine creates pictures that look like slices of the area your doctor is interested in. The test does not require dye or a needle. Not all thoracic disc herniations cause symptoms.
Computed tomography (CT scan) is a detailed X-ray that shows images about calcified discs when combined with myelography dye highlights the spinal cord and nerves. The dye can improve the accuracy of a standard CT scan for diagnosing a herniated thoracic disc.
McCormick Law Office attorneys in Milwaukee, Wisconsin get workers compensation benefits for injured workers with thoracic herniated disc. Again, documentation of the incident causing the disc herniation or the physical job duties that cause the herniated disc are key to a successful workers compensation claim. Injured workers need to give accurate and complete histories of the work accident and physical job duties that contributed to the mid back pain and radicular symptoms down the arms or legs.
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