We were looking into an MRI for my son's back injury. I was told it would take at least 3 weeks to schedule through insurance. Called the facility and told them I'd pay with my credit card and they were ready to schedule in 3 days.
I think on here (some old thread) I read that you should shop around (if possible) for private pay MRI. Depending on insurance, the difference in out-of-pocket may be minimal. Call around.
@Francis7 posted:Thx. No MRI yet. The medical insurance is giving us a hard time on approving it. Recommended PT first but the Orthopedist didn't want to risk further aggravating it with PT.
Yes. PT is the first step to the MRI. Sorry about that. Maybe second opinion from a different ortho for PT?
....or not. And wait until he gets to college and check on the schools insurance first! (All schools are different).
It's now been 12 days since he last played or practiced and he's really itching. If the MRI isn't approved, I suspect it's going to be like last summer and he's going to say F-it, I'm playing.
@keewart posted:Yes. PT is the first step to the MRI. Sorry about that. Maybe second opinion from a different ortho for PT?
....or not. And wait until he gets to college and check on the schools insurance first! (All schools are different).
College is a ways away. He's a junior. We may just do PT. Looking into it now.
Francis,
Keewart is correct, protocol is PT first for most insurance companies for players at this age, even at the college level.
Let the ortho fight it out with the insurance company.
You need to tell your son to be patient, you all had time to address the situation, he can't continue to play if he is experiencing such pain that he has to take motrin to go out and play. I know that players do it all the time, but whatever is going on doesn't sound good, so just be patient.
Thx. We still haven't given up on the MRI. Hoping that can still happen.
Have you called an MRI facility and asked what the cost is to pay out of pocket? I wouldn’t want to sit and wait on others to give an approval that may never come.
So...the moral of the story is: Get a second opinion!
Two weeks after the MRI and one week after the orthopedist consultation, saw a different orthopedist who looked at the MRI and they offered a much less dire assessment of the situation.
Yes....?
@Francis7 posted:His trainers all say it's from overuse. I don't doubt it. For six months he was training 5 to 6 days a week for 2 to 3 hours a day. (His choice. Not mine. In fact I would ask him to take days off - because I am the transportation - but he would insist on going.)
You are the transportation, so you could have (should have) made him take days off. Your choice, not his.
We went from FAI to a muscle strain with 2 different orthopedists looking at the same MRI. And it was the surgeon who said it's a strain and he highly recommends PT and said this is not a situation for surgery.
@Francis7 posted:We went from FAI to a muscle strain with 2 different orthopedists looking at the same MRI. And it was the surgeon who said it's a strain and he highly recommends PT and said this is not a situation for surgery.
Great news. If he takes the PT as seriously as he took his workouts, he should be fine.
Good News!!!!
Francis, report back to this thread in a year or two to follow up. (Son had the pain in high school, did PT, and felt fine until he heard/felt the "pop"/tear in his hip in college.) Wishing your son all the best!
Thx. I will keep you posted.
It really was an interesting comparison.
First orthopedist non-surgeon said it's FAI, always going to be a problem, might get to the point where you're going to want to consult with a surgeon to shave down the bones.
Second orthopedist who is a surgeon looked at the same MRI and said it's not FAI, said if you look at the MRI you can clearly see it's not the socket that's the issue and it's a muscle strain that obvious on the MRI.
I guess I should see a 3rd orthopedist for a tiebreaker? But, my son is back to playing, looks free and easy on the field and is not complaining about pain.
If he starts to get discomfort or has any issues, we won't delay on getting it checked out.
If you think that's interesting,
that's for one person with MRI of the low back.
Similar things can be said for the shoulder as well. So, if I were a betting man (and I'm not), I'm willing to guess if you were to get a third opinion, you could still get a completely different opinion, haha. Glad to hear he's back playing and it's feeling better. That's good to hear!