Why might my doctor order a brain mri for back pain?

Hard to say: There can be a number of reasons a physician might order an MRI of the brain in someone who has back pain but no complaints of headaches or symptoms clearly attributed to the head. Usually it is the reslult of a finding that occured during the history, exam, or other radiologic studies that leads the physician to rule out an abnormality in the brain. Thank you for the question.

Complicated: If your doctor has evaluated your spine and all the studies are negative, then your doctor is looking for other causes of back pain. In a sense, all pain is perceived in the brain, and an injury to the brain could make you feel like you have back pain without a specific injury to your back. Brain problems such as a a mass, infarct, bleed, demyelinating disorder and others can produce your pain.