brain mapping: functional MRI and DTI. Functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is a noninvasive diagnostic test that measures small changes in blood flow as a person performs tasks while in the MRI scanner. Functional MRI detects the brain in action (e.g., speaking or moving).
Back injections may help treat two major back pain problems: radiculopathy and spinal stenosis. Doctors also use injections for other types of back pain. Sometimes, they also use them to help find out what's causing the pain. Radiculopathy refers to inflammation or damage to a nerve usually in the neck or the low back.
Regional analgesia has become the most common method of pain relief used during labor in the United States. Epidural and spinal analgesia are two types of regional analgesia. With epidural analgesia, an indwelling catheter is directed into the epidural space, and the patient receives a continuous infusion or multiple injections of local anesthetic.