The Three Common Reasons Why Your Doctor Would Recommend an MRI Scan

Your doctor may have told you to undergo imaging tests to better evaluate your symptoms or treatment. But if you’re not familiar with tests beyond the common X-ray, you might wonder why you’d need an MRI or a CT scan.

If your physician has told you to undergo an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), there are usually three main reasons why.

Soft tissue needs to be studied

It’s no secret that MRI scans produce more detailed soft tissue scans compared to CT scans. While the latter uses X-ray beams to take images of the body’s organs, MRIs use nuanced radio frequency pulses and powerful magnets to take clearer images of internal structures – specifically, “soft” ones that are not like bones or teeth. Soft tissue includes tendons, ligaments, connective membranes, blood vessels, and nerves.