4 steroid injections;arthritis in facet joints by pain dr no relief until today , 2 weeks later. went to my ortho ysterdy he wants bone scan terrified?

Get the scan: There is always more fear about the unknown versus the known. Tell your doctor that you are terrified. I doubt there is a real reason to be terrified. I suppose you are afraid of what the scan will show, but a bone scan can also show other structural problem that could be causing your pain. Get the scan.

Cause of pain: Bone scan involves intravenous injection of radio tracer usually technetium 99m mdp which accumulates in skeleton. Bone scan very sensitive but not specific. Bone scan can show increased bone metabolism and source of pain. Increased uptake is seen in fractures, tumors, infection, etc. If scan localizes pain area, then correlative imaging with MRI or ct scan will help your doctor in treating pain.

Simple non invasive.: Bone scan is a very simple and noninvasive test involving the intravenous injection ( usually into an arm or hand vein) of 99mtc-mdp, a very common radiotracer. An external detector called gamma camera will be used to detect the rays from the radionuclide. There is no pain, may be just a little discomfort sometimes because you have to remain still on the table during the study ( 30-45 minutes).