Frequently Asked Questions

A referral is only needed if required by your insurance carrier. Typically, however, our patients have already seen their primary care physician or an orthopedic specialist and are sent to one of the Spine Institute physicians for a consultative appointment. Our physicians then relay back to the referring physician the results of your appointment(s).

Once a patient has called and requested a refill on an existing prescription, that request is sent to the physician for approval. If approved we ask that you allow 24 hours for the prescription to be called in due to the volume of refill requests that flow through our clinic. If the refill request is not approved, you will hear back from one of our staff members within 2 working days.

Each modality is used to diagnose different aspects of the spine. Xrays show the kind of injury and severity which can include: fractures, arthritis, spondylolistheses, degeneration of disks, abnormalities in curvature, congenital abnormalities, bondy detail, and tumors.

The body is a three dimensional structure and xray is two dimensional. Flexion and extension ben the spine to see range of motion and can also reveal deformities which can determine if it can be corrected.

We use ALARA which means the dose is as low as reasonable achievable but still acquires an excellent diagnostic image. The benefits of xrays outweigh the small but possible harmful effects. The amount of radiation received is much less than the national acceptable dose. Strict guidelines and regulations exist to ensure patient safety and protection.