Harrington rods and MRI

Posted by gssalds @gssalds, Apr 7 5:29pm

In 1984 I had 2-10” Harrington rods placed in mid to lower back. At that time my surgeon told me I could never have an mri.
I am now having severe pain radiating from my lumbar spine down my hip and right leg. I have had X-rays but they are very cloudy looking due to the metal rods.
I need help and was wondering if I can have an mri?
I am in the process of looking for a neurosurgeon. I have a lot of compression at L5-S1. Due to the rods. They have been in place 40 years. I am 68 now. Thank you for your time, God bless, Tressa

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Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Jun 2 3:20pm

In reply to @s1curve "Hello Jennifer, if I may call you by your name. Yes i am having issues. I..." + (show)

@s1curve My physical therapist would agree with you about SI joint fusion, and that can’t be undone. There are a few discussions on here about it. I know a lady who had it done and is in constant pain. Of course everyone is different and what you’ve experienced because of Harrington rods may be related to your condition now. I have some SI joint laxity which will allow my pelvis to shift and that does cause back pain or leg pain, but it is corrected when my pelvis is realigned. I also have body tightness from thoracic outlet syndrome that will pull on my pelvis and neck. My PT is very valuable in correcting issues. For the most part I’m fine and just need a few tweaks now and then. My only spine surgery was a cervical fusion.